Reply With QuoteIt all adds up ;-)Originally Posted by markc
Loving that you've gone aero even with the QR levers :-)Built for speed! Just finished my 12th season on this bike. I reckon it's 5mph quicker than my road bike for the same effort.
Cheers,
Mark C
It all adds up ;-)
Just upgraded from a creaky 5 year old Elite turbo trainer that's done many thousands of miles to a TACX Neo smart turbo. Wow, very nice bit if kit. So quiet that it immediately made me realise that the bottom bracket on my turbo bike is grinding. Couldn't hear it before over the racket of the old turbo. I particularly like the road surface simulator on Zwift - it does a great job of simulating the feeling of riding over cobbles or the planks of a wooden bridge.
just built up an ibis hd3 in green upgraded from an hdr,cracking bikes and well worth the hype
Thanks, some great advice there. Will keep looking.
I see you're using the four4th scorpion!..how do you find it?. I bought one last year but have yet to do any time trialsBuilt for speed! Just finished my 12th season on this bike. I reckon it's 5mph quicker than my road bike for the same effort.
Last week I was in Como, drove up to Bellagio for the day and on the way back stopped at the chapel of Madonna del Ghisallo, the so-called patron saint of cyclists. Unfortunately the cycling museum (which was huge) was closed - only open at weekends out of season.
You can read about the connection between the chapel and cycling here
http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/...nt-of-cycling/
Always fancied building up a Litespeed Ghisallo...
Ha, well I have to concede that it's a great light. It can literally be seen for miles, especially in TT mode which is 3 red flashes followed by one green/white flash. It needs recharging after every ride ideally. I'd say it lasts 2-3 hours if on the brightest setting.
Unfortunately I lost my first one when the extension bracket supplied by Fourth fractured during a race & deposited my light somewhere on the course. I ended up having to take the owner of Fourth to court because he replaced the fractured bracket but refused to replace the lost light. I wasn't the only one it happened to, in fact my wife had her's break riding home from the same race but she managed to retrieve the light. There were several more as well.
It was a bit of a PR disaster for him even before it got to court because there was a big discussion about it on a forum & the vast consensus sided with me. In court the judge also agreed with me & ordered him to pay my expenses & the cost of the light plus a day's lost wages. It wasn't really worth all the stress & I wouldn't do it again, but I was pleased that I had upheld the principle. I did actually buy another Scorpion light with the money, as well as his mark 2 version of the extension bracket which he had beefed up by about 300% in the area of fracture.
BTW, he calls the business Fourth, not Four4th. I know this because I kept calling it "Four fourth" in court & he corrected me ;-)
I'm confused, you took someone to court over a lost bike light? Surely it would be waaaaay cheaper to just buy another one?!
I'm with trident on this
I've got the light myself and they are great but not cheap at £125.
The manufacturer accepted liability for the broken holder (obviously a design or manufacturing fault) yet seemed to think he wasn't then liable for the concomitant loss of the light.
Regardless of the legal position it would have made sense just to provide another light to avoid bad PR when he'd already acknowledged the holder was faulty.
Taking people to court doesn't cost a lot ..last time I did it was when I cancelled some Web hosting it was £30. I'd paid for two lots (one via debit card and one credit card). With the debit card one I simply gave a months notice and the credit card they refused any as i'd paid for a year. Given that they'd simply sell this to another customer and there was no intrinsic loss to them I didn't see why they should keep the entire amount. It was only £60 but (like trident 7) it was a matter of principle
Most people settle up before court anyway
Heads up on a cheap but very effective rear light, on offer at Ribble for £6.59. This little thing (65x35 mm) is incredibly bright and visible, it's now a permanent fixture on my winter bike - daytime rides included.
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/smart-rear-light-lunar-r1-1-watt/#pid=23326
F.T.F.A.
I'm not confused at all. I've had a couple of not inexpensive bike lights with a mounting bracket that broke within the first couple of days. It does make you wonder what goes through the heads of these people but then if this chump decided to go to court to defend the indefensible that's probably your answer.
Well done.
Last edited by Carlton-Browne; 9th November 2016 at 11:23.
The money wasn't an issue
It's done... Well apart from the other sides bar tape and the bottle cages!
Awesome bike. Except for the bar tape. I'd have stuck with the stealthy black theme
Hello all
Thanks to this thread, I bought a Triban 500se. It's good fun and fairly quick.
One thing I noticed was that as the brakes are on the drops (forgive me if this isn't the right term - I'm not a cyclist), I'm getting some pins and needles in my wrists after about half an hour. Is this something that I'll get used to after a few months or should I go and see a specialist bike shop to get myself properly set up?
There's a Psycle in Canary Wharf but they want a few hundred quid to set me up. Happy to do this if it will prevent problems over time.
If you don't already have any get some decent padded gloves. If gloves make a difference it's the cheapest solution and you should have some anyway so doesn't represent any nugatory expenditure.
Last edited by Carlton-Browne; 24th November 2016 at 15:00.
In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.
^Thanks CB, will get some.
It could be a result of how you are sat on the bike. Your core should do much of the work keeping you in position so that you are not relying on your arms/shoulders to support you - You may find yourself resting on (or slumped over) the bars with locked elbows, particularly when tiring. Gloves will help but try and concentrate on getting a decent position supported by your core first. It can feel odd initially but long term it's worth it. Google Handlebar / Cyclist's Palsy for more info, it's very common.
Last edited by benny.c; 24th November 2016 at 15:47.
OK thanks benny - will Google that.
I feel as if I'm overreaching a bit (not just in cycling but that's another story).
I may look at seeing if I can extend the bars up somehow as well as they are a little low or too far away although the bike seems to be a good fit otherwise.
Spacers or flipped stem might help Alpha. I've just swapped my 110mm stem out for a 90mm as I too felt I was reaching a tad too far. Flipping stem helped a touch and was the cheapest thing to try before experimenting with other stems. Had no additional room for anymore spacers unfortunately so a case of playing around a little to get comfortable. I'm okay with hands but get really bad shoulder and lower neck pain when riding 40 miles plus. As Benny says all down to bad positioning on the bike........the hoods were effectively taking the weight of my body.
Last edited by RLE; 24th November 2016 at 16:50.
Does shortening the stem mean it's closer to the rider? I thought it might be better to have a longer stem as I'd have less distance to go downwards. I'm probably not explaining myself too well.
Your stem will have a positive and negative. As an example mine is an 84 + or - 6. Flipping the stem in to the positive position put the bars higher and a touch closer.
If you are still stretched out, a shorter stem may be needed. 10mm can make a big difference. Yes effectively a longer stem with an agressive angle would bring the bars closer so your premis rings true although the more common stems are the 84's. Habanero actually do a stem calculator showing the various reach stats in relation to stem length and angle which I've linked below.
http://www.habcycles.com/fitting.html
nothing scientific but I find a good indicator can be set from visuals in relation to the front wheel hub. Sitting with hands on the hoods can you see your front wheel hub when looking down? If it is behind the bars the stem could be too long, in front of the bars, stem likely too short. Blocked by the bars tends to be my favoured length on my three bikes. Likewise a serious rider commented that if you sit on the bike and place your hands on the hoods, your centre of gravity shouldn't be such that you would lose your balance and fall flat on your face if the handle bars weren't there.
As mentioned before the spacers on the headset (assuming you have room) or flipping the stem to the positive position are my go to changes and aside from 10 minutes of your time are the cheapest. If a new stem is needed there are plenty on EBay which can sourced for a few pounds....Small outlay for say two stems to play around with and you pretty much get your money back if you sell them again as long as you avoid the super duper carbon fibre offerings that weigh less than a grain of rice. Of course the main issue is getting your saddle position correct. No point in adding a shorter stem only to find at a later point that you get crippling knee pain from having your seat too far back and in retrospect the stem you removed was actually the right one.
A fit may ultimately be money well spent and something I'm looking at myself as I still struggle with knee pain despite having basic set ups by so called specialists over the years.
Some good common sense above, I had a proffesional bike fit last Aug (Beacon Cycles Clitheroe) and my bike feels great, my training ( older bike) feels cramped. Im going to try out some of the above visual checks to see if I can see my hubs etc.
Thanks for posting
RLE, thanks for such a detailed answer. Sounds like I have some testing to do.
It comes at a good time as I'm trying to squeeze in some training before a corporate cycling event.
Can you post some photos with you sat on the bike in your normal position? From the side & head on.
I found these two sites useful when I had trouble fitting myself to my bike
http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm
https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/
The latter has a lot of stuff in it.
In the end Pearson cycles had an offer of £125 for a fit so I did that and I found it very useful. I played with all sorts of stems etc, but having someone help you works really well. Also it then gave me an indication of what good should feel like.
Chap there is very good as well.
Does anybody know why the TZ cycling club on Strava seems to have attracted a bunch of people who join about 200 strava clubs and then spam them with their rides?
For me it's Cyclefit in either London or Manchester. They were the pioneers of fitting in the UK and are still arguably the best.
Got this a few months back. Big decision for me switching from campag to di2, but well pleased with the electrics!
The biggest benefit I got from a fittting was understanding what good feels like. Things are always going to change - bike, flexibility etc but I find having a good base as a starting point really useful.
An old Sun Solo, perfect for popping to town or the pub. Parked up by Hereford Cathedral with Elgar watching over it this morning.
I can't comment on Cyclefit asI've no experience of them. A lot of so called bike fits are worse than useless though. One of my team mates is Jamie Wilkins who is deputy editor of Pro Cycling magazine & who does a large part of their testing. As such he's tried a lot of bike fits in his time but he says that he always ends up going back to the geometry set up from Giuseppe Giannecchini. This is who he recommended to me & who I went to see a couple of years ago. One of the best value £150 I've spent on the bike
http://artisancycles.co.uk/fitting.php
Edit: It was at a place called Much Hadham near Bishop's Stortford
Last edited by trident-7; 17th December 2016 at 17:29.
I run four4th lights on single track and find them excellent.
The scorpion, admittedly, isn't used off road as it simply blinds anybody within about half a mile of me. The handlebar and helmet lights are used constantly and, even on the low setting are excellent.
When I cycle on the road I run the scorpion irrespective of it being day or night. It's visible even in sunlight. Obviously, at night, it's very visible.
Four4ths have received an amount of bad press regarding the rear bracket breakage and scorpions falling out if the lanyard is not attached. With mine, it was factory fitted with an upgraded mount and it fits fine. I always keep the lanyard attached both for reasons of retention and also to keep mud away from the recharging port.
I honestly cannot fault four4th customer service. I collected the lights from the factory in Aldershot and the company owner actually fitted them for me, swapping out the normal rear mounting for an improved one. Somehow, a little later, I managed to get water into one of the charging ports on the handlebar light. I dropped in, held my hands up and was loaned a light for a few days so that I could singletrack and I picked up my repaired unit without charge a few days later. It all comes down to being reasonable with people and, IMHO Four4ths are very reasonable if treated properly.
They are not cheap units - far from it. However, they are well designed and well built and I am very satisfied with my purchases.
In case anybody is wondering, there is no incentive for me from them in putting up this post. I simply wish to give my appraisal of the product.
I agree that the lights are good. Unfortunately the owner of Fourth, I forget his name, is the only person I've had to threaten with court action because he did not do the right thing. I then followed it up by actually taking him to court at great stress, expense & wasted time. The judge agreed with me & found against him in court & awarded me all my expenses & compensation. In my opinion all the bad press that he received was of his own doing.
Lovely machine. I'm a sucker for a nice steel frame and down tube shifters, reliable and comfortable with a classic look.An old Sun Solo, perfect for popping to town or the pub. Parked up by Hereford Cathedral with Elgar watching over it this morning.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I have never seen run times like them before. I have been looking on the website. In all seriousness do you think they are the Chinese cree type units re skinned and packaged? I'm not sure but they seem in that style.
I just bought the MOON NEBULAR and am very happy with it. It is incredibly bright.
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
My latest wheels for my new bike/train/bike commute to London:
A few newbie bike commuter errors in my first week: very inadequate lighting for the unlit foggy lanes at 6.30am, forgot gloves one morning and froze my thumbs, took a wrong turn in London and got a bit lost, couldn't remember how to fold the thing first trip. Lessons being learned! Got a Carradice City Folder front fitting bag coming next week.
Overall the Brompton is great fun and I'm enjoying breaking up the train journey with 15 miles of riding a day.
I can't say with any certainty as I didn't design the units. However, having witnessed the unit that got wet during my ownership be disassembled and being an engineer myself, I am very impressed by the design and quality of the electronics and mechanics which go into the finished units. I was stood on a mezzanine floor above a CNC machine shop which makes stuff destined for the aerospace industry. The shells into which the electronic driver boards and the LED arrays are inserted are made on the floor below as are the mounts. The owner of the company, a person who regularly rides bikes himself and who's cycling team I regularly see out on single tracks is very passionate about the product and really seems to understand what cyclists need doesn't strike me as somebody who simply buys in cheap Chinese hardware and re-brands the packaging to make a fast buck. I could be wrong but, more often than not, I'm a decent judge of people.
Just picked up an orange crush s hardtail as i was roped into doing the strathpuffer in jan with few mates, lovely bike and handles like a dream,no wonder it got 10/10 in a review last year 😀
When I picked mine up I was impressed with the quality. The only thing he buys in if I remember correctly are the LEDs and the batteries. Pretty much everything else is machined in house on the CNC machines
I bought the scorpion as it had great reviews and is insanely bright (especially in tt mode). I guess my only gripe with the scorpion is that the battery is integral to the light (
You can't swap it out with a spare battery like the scorch) which means if you're out for more than 4.5 hrs you can't use it on high power mode. I find it's invaluable at this time of year with the low sun, it gives me confidence I'm visible when riding on fast roads where before I'd worry if people had seen me
Great bike, regarding your comment on the lanes at 06:30. The number of times I have agreed or thought to do "that early ride" only to be riding in the dark and freezing!My latest wheels for my new bike/train/bike commute to London:
A few newbie bike commuter errors in my first week: very inadequate lighting for the unlit foggy lanes at 6.30am, forgot gloves one morning and froze my thumbs, took a wrong turn in London and got a bit lost, couldn't remember how to fold the thing first trip. Lessons being learned! Got a Carradice City Folder front fitting bag coming next week.
Overall the Brompton is great fun and I'm enjoying breaking up the train journey with 15 miles of riding a day.
Even did it in Greece on a Carbon Cannondale, thinking" I know Ill get up before breakfast and beat the heat" Yep no heat , no light either. Fantastic bike though Evo 6
Got my lighting sorted now and used the Brompton every day last week. I'm enjoying it but yes a bit more light and warmth would be welcomed! I had my closest ever cycling incident early on Thursday morning when down one of the dark lanes a deer lept out right in front of me. He just appeared right in front of me and sprang away again. No chance of me reacting but luckily I was only doing maybe 12mph and his reactions were quicker than mine.
It's nice to share an interest with the wife...pity it doesn't extend to the love of watches ;-)
Awesome. My wife also rides but tends to be sportives and climbing mountains together rather than racing (she'd beat me!).It's nice to share an interest with the wife...pity it doesn't extend to the love of watches ;-)
About four hours ago, I was dreaming that the chain of my road bike somehow got tangled up in the handlebars, and snapped. Despite this I hope to do about 40 miles today - which will take me to 5600 done this year.
Merry Christmas!
Off road for me
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
About four hours ago, I was dreaming that the chain of my road bike somehow got tangled up in the handlebars, and snapped. Despite this I hope to do about 40 miles today - which will take me to 5600 done this year.
Merry Christmas!
5600 miles thats brilliant, I just clocked up 3,000 on the 20th Dec, my best year so far for distance.
7515 miles as of this morning despite starting the year with a fractured hip, collar bone & 2 ribs.
Mind you Amanda Coker has done 57000 miles so far this year. Most of those since the middle of May. She's knocking out about 230 miles a day & is on track to beat the men's annual mileage record which was set only last year
https://www.strava.com/athletes/1003...&year_offset=0
Last edited by trident-7; 24th December 2016 at 13:50.
Posting Permissions
