Cycling chat

[Mark Forrest]

After getting out for a couple of local rides first on Sunday afternoon and then on Tuesday night; tiredness and lack of motivation has got the better of me tonight.  Still, I managed an hour of daylight after work to do a few maintenance jobs outside.  Also swapped the wheels off my hardtail onto my full sus so it has tyres more suited to the (more interesting) muddy sloppy trails away from the official trails.

 

I'm told that some of the local trail builders have been busy with some new stuff, so hopefully I'll get to have a run down a couple of those at the weekend, especially if it dries out a little bit.

[leavesontheline]

5 hours ago, big jim said:

I’ve just been dropped in it by my boss, he’s asked me to work a bit extra tomorrow after my booked turn, I had to explain I was going to collect “something” of bought on eBay whilst on the hands free in the car with my wife listening

 

“what have you bought” he said 

 

“erm……”

 

Cue rolling eyes and a thousand questions walking round Sainsburys, a trip to the wine isle made things better

 

not told her I’ve got to go to essex to collect it

 

lucjiky I’ve cleared out all those other bikes earlier in the week so the new one can live in the she’d rather than the conservatory 

 

 

A very familiar situation!

 

I'm on a 'one in - one out' policy on bikes now! However, one way around this is to disassemble a bike (only one that I was going to rebuild or upgrade one day anyway) so the frame is the largest part that needs to hang up in the garage, and then buy a new one in as a collection of parts!!

 

With model railway stuff its not quite so easy though. Nothing is going 'out'. So everything coming 'in' at the moment is "just something I pre-ordered years ago" which to be fair is quite often the case currently!

 

23 hours ago, njee20 said:

Hopefully it’ll do the job. It’ll become the new winter/commuter bike, which is gross overkill, but life’s too short! I’ve gone a size smaller than every other Trek road bike I’ve had (5, I think!), so that should be interesting, but the geometry charts make it look very close to my current bike. 
 

It’s amazing how much of a shortage of new bikes and bits there still is. Apparently some orders are arriving sooner as shops cancel ‘land grabbing’ orders placed at the height of the pandemic. Like I say, hopefully it’ll arrive on time!

 

Yes, I was told recently, regarding some Shimano components (though I forget what exactly), that stock wasn't expected until spring 2023!

 

There has been a 'perfect storm' over the past couple of years of higher than normal global demand for bikes but decreased production due to factory closures, lockdowns etc. I don't know how companies like Shimano 'ration' their production whilst they return to normality. I imagine the biggest bike manufacturers get first dibs? New 2022 models are trickling onto the 'shelves' but in reduced quantities it seems. I feel sorry for the smaller bike companies who don't have the financial/purchasing clout, like Bowman Cycles, who folded recently. A real shame. Especially when there is a 'boom' in cycling. Having said all that I have managed to get all the bits I need since Covid19 came on the scene and that includes three bike builds for me and family members. Sometimes you have to make compromises but it is easier to do this when you are building it to your own spec.

[Nearholmer]

What surprises me slightly is that there are so few “quality secondhand” bike dealers these days. We do have one locally who particularly specialises in up-cycled road bikes for women, but they are definitely very rare.

 

As Mr Edge reported above, secondhand used to be a significant part of the quality bike market, and most small town bike specialists had at least basic frame-brazing skills (not all that relevant with aluminium and carbon, admittedly!).

 

It seems to me that very good bikes for people who are keen, but not absolutely wedded to eliminating the last gram, or cutting gear change time by the last millisecond could be made from the new-but-discarded bits, and last year’s models of those who are. Ebay and Gumtree look after some of it, but it does feel as if there is a business opportunity there for people with space to create a small workshop, even if only a modest one.

 

Put another way: there are enough good bikes and parts in the U.K. already, they just need to be matched with the right owners.

 

 

Edited March 18, 2022 by Nearholmer

[big jim]

not being into cycling ‘proper’ for the last 9 month or so I’ve noticed there does seem to be a trend for wanting ‘this years models’ (much like model railways I suppose) a product of the throw away culture we live in, get the latest one and eBay the old one (not that I’m complaining about that), lockdown of course has bought up a ruck of barely used bikes on eBay that were bought in lockdown and never used since, my eBay watch list last week was just ‘as new’ hybrid bikes, this week was mountain bikes! (Next week will be Asgard bike storage lockers!)

 

the lack of 2nd hand shops is probably partly to do with on line market places, people want a quick sale and big market place, it certainly worked for me with the electric bike rather than lugging it round locally and getting offers or bottom dollar for it, as an example halfords are doing bike trade ins at the moment and the £1100 bike I bought from them only 9 months ago would have only been worth £250 maximum as a trade in and it would have had to have been in absolute immaculate condition (almost unused) 

 

It’s not until recently I realised there are a few good independent bike shops in my locality, not just top end Lycra brigade type shops, I used one the other week to change the cranks on the ebike after Halfords said they wouldn’t do it, an absolute pleasure to use and I will be doing so again for any other work, a lovely old boy, proper workshop with a battered old well used wooden workbench, a real pleasure to deal with, the shop has been there for years in the middle of town and I can imagine in its heyday he would have had hundreds customers who used to cycle to crewe works from the surrounding areas, now of course all gone and all the warehouses nearby aren’t geared up for cyclist commuters or the staff travel by car from outside the area but he keeps going, almost seems like a hobby for him, I collected my bike from his house when he’d done it and his garage was another workshop too

 

 

 

 

Edited March 18, 2022 by big jim

[Mark Forrest]

1 hour ago, Nearholmer said:

Put another way: there are enough good bikes and parts in the U.K. already, they just need to be matched with the right owners.

 

Local to me, Lichfield  Re:cycle (a volunteer run charity) aim to do exactly that (amongst other things).

https://lichfieldrecycle.org.uk/

 

Can only speak from a MTB perspective, but we've had no trouble at all selling on unwanted components, frames and (on one occasion) a complete bike advertising either on Pinkbike or Singletrack classifieds, eBay or by posting in owner's groups on Facebook.

I also know that from time to time a my LBS has a customer's used bike for sale and another have a fleet of hire bikes that they generally sell off at the end of the summer.  In my experience I'd say the secondhand marketing is doing very well without dealers, although the idea of setting up such a dealership and spending all day tinkering with bikes does sound appealing!

[Nearholmer]

This is the one near me, where they do exactly that: https://www.facebook.com/bg.bikes.me/

 

There's also a guy in Oxford who specialises in secondhand bikes for students, many really cheap and mostly "runabouts", but he sometimes has exotic road bikes at low prices too, probably things left behind in lodgings when people graduate.

 

Maybe you are right that there isn't much space in the market for dealers in high-end secondhand.

[Kylestrome]

11 hours ago, leavesontheline said:

I'm on a 'one in - one out' policy on bikes now!

 

Although I’m a keen cyclist I’ve never been one to own more than two bikes at a time. In fact, since I bought my first s/h bike at 16 (I was a very starter!) I’ve only had a total of six bikes, and I’m now approaching 70. It would have been only five but bike No. 5 was stolen after only a year of use.

 

I tend to make things last. As an example, my current winter bike has inherited all the 1996 Chorus parts from my old Pinarello (bike No. 3) and, apart from replacement chain rings and cogs from TA and Miche, everything is still working like new! I don’t believe I would have got the same amount of use out of a Shimano groupset, but I might be wrong. It weighs a ton but it keeps my muscles from disappearing in the winter months.

 

One big problem I see, with older bikes and parts, is that the tech in the last couple of decades has moved on at such a pace, that it’s become increasingly difficult to know what parts are compatible with each other. Long gone are the days when everything was more or less standard and you could build a bike with just any old bits with basic tools!

 

David

Edited March 18, 2022 by Kylestrome

[Bernard Lamb]

8 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

This is the one near me, where they do exactly that: https://www.facebook.com/bg.bikes.me/

 

There's also a guy in Oxford who specialises in secondhand bikes for students, many really cheap and mostly "runabouts", but he sometimes has exotic road bikes at low prices too, probably things left behind in lodgings when people graduate.

 

Maybe you are right that there isn't much space in the market for dealers in high-end secondhand.

There is a very good market for high end equipment.

It tends to inhabit the members only facebook groups and forums.

Doing business that way would seem to get the product and the customers together and avoid the time wasters.

These sort of people  have discussions about handlebars that cost more than most people would spend on  a bike.

Bernard

 

[njee20]

Yes, there's certainly a thriving market for even fairly run of the mill parts I'd say. I think part of the reason it's not overly viable as a 'proper' business is that buyers expect a significant discount on new value, which means less margin. It's also not like railways where people may have a collection of 100 items to sell, and therefore a dealer paying a discounted price is an acceptable trade off. If you have a bike, or a couple of bits, it's not really any more hassle to just sell them yourself! The warranty is valuable too, which again reduces how much people are prepared to pay second hand.

I know I found that as new prices rose there was a ceiling beyond which people were much less prepared to buy second hand. 

I still sell most stuff on eBay, have sold a number of bikes, frames, wheels, and countless components that way. I have noticed a second hand bike shop just down the road from me, tempted to go and have a look sometime; no idea if it's just bikes, or if he's doing 'stuff' too.

 

[big jim]

Touch of deja vu

 

First ride is going to be Liverpool st to euston, got to remember it’s not zwift! 

 

[Nearholmer]

You do know that all your other bikes have been sold while you were out?

[big jim]

The R7 is safely hidden at the station! 
 

Decided to get off at stratford and ride back to euston from there, actually quite enjoyed it, really good dedicated cycle paths from the station right into the city by St. Paul’s then it’s shared space but mainly bus/taxi lanes 

 

 

as for the bike, oh my, what a cracking ride, so light and nimble, hate to say it but it may be better than the R7, can’t wait to try it on the trackbed rides 
 

its running on semi road tyres, possibly the type nearholmer is looking at, quiet and fast compared to what I had on the electric bike, gear change is slick and brakes are fantastic

[Nickey Line]

By coincidence I did one of my favourite rides today, down to a Hertfordshire cycling hub, Spokes Cycles CC, run by an ex-pro team mechanic. They do high-end second-hand and classic bikes, as well as custom builds... and a mean sourdough cheese toastie!

https://www.spokecycles.cc/

Edited March 18, 2022 by Nickey Line

[big jim]

Really pleased with the new bike, left it in work and took the orange one home instead, got to get some mud guards and a couple of frame bags for it as well as some lights 
 

[jcredfer]

5 hours ago, big jim said:

Touch of deja vu

 

First ride is going to be Liverpool st to euston, got to remember it’s not zwift! 

 

 

Deja vu, indeed!  Some of the kids I spent 11 years teaching were from Billericay and a goodly number from Stratford.....

 

.....   shudders and reaches for the Gin bottle!!!    ... 

 

 

[Mark Forrest]

3 hours ago, Nickey Line said:

By coincidence I did one of my favourite rides today, down to a Hertfordshire cycling hub, Spokes Cycles CC, run by an ex-pro team mechanic. They do high-end second-hand and classic bikes, as well as custom builds... and a mean sourdough cheese toastie!

https://www.spokecycles.cc/

A couple of useful routes on their website too, thanks for that link.  Work takes me to WGC every couple of weeks and I'd been thinking about going for an after work ride on the gravel bike when the nights get a bit lighter - thanks

[Nickey Line]

1 hour ago, Mark Forrest said:

thanks

 

Worth popping in if you get the chance too.

[big jim]

Well that near killed me, first ride between wolves and bescot on the conventional bike, took the hybrid, had a 15+mph headwind all the way, really took it out of me, almost 8 minutes slower than the average time I could do it on the electric bike

 

 

 

[Mark Forrest]

I can, at times, be fairly disparaging about our local riding, it's largely a case of (over) familiarity breeding contempt.  As a result I rarely stop to admire the view or take a photo, today though I made a point of doing just that.

This was near the top of the first climb, just before dropping into a trail that will take us back down into the valley we'd just climbed out of, ready to climb back up again!

 

After a bit of revisiting a few old favourite trails we crossed to the hill on the otherside to locate a couple of trails I'd spotted on Strava but never ridden.

 

At this point, we're no more than a mile (as the crow flies) from home, in fact we could see our house in the middle distance through the trees.  The trails here drop reasonably steeply back down into the valley on the left; the OS map labels this area Hell Hole.  Trail conditions still a little too sloppy under tree cover, but drying up nicely out in the open.  I reckon a couple more dry days we'll have near perfect conditions and a nice bit of fresh loam to play in.

Had such a good ride, I'd almost forgotten about the sticking front brake caliper that left me reluctant to brake too hard for fear to would lock in - still, at least it wouldn't have been far to walk home if it had!

[Nearholmer]

1 hour ago, big jim said:

really took it out of me

But, your average speed was pretty sound given a stiff headwind, so a good outcome.

 

41 minutes ago, Mark Forrest said:

it's largely a case of (over) familiarity breeding contempt

It happens. I get a bit fed-up with largely the same lanes and paths over the winter, yet when I first used them they were a delight.

 

There was a club gravel (mud and sand really) ride today, and there’s another tomorrow. I can never do weekend rides, too many family commitments, but this time I wasn’t too distressed because ……. the rides are my winter lanes and paths!

[Nickey Line]

2 hours ago, Mark Forrest said:

 

Some wonderfully sculptural trees in that view.

[big jim]

I thought it was a still from Jurassic park when I first looked! 
 

 

[tractionman]

3 hours ago, big jim said:

Well that near killed me, first ride between wolves and bescot on the conventional bike, took the hybrid, had a 15+mph headwind all the way, really took it out of me, almost 8 minutes slower than the average time I could do it on the electric bike

 

 

 

 

I'm always pretty happy with an **average** speed on my Ridgeback hybrid of around 12mph, usually it's aound 10mph when off-road and nearer to 12-14mph on-road, depending on conditions and especially hills and wind direction!

 

 

 

 

 

[big jim]

The ride back from basford hall was a lot quicker with the wind behind me!

 

having done 3 rides on the hybrid yesterday of varying lengths I’ve come to the conclusion that, like the road bike, it needs a shorter stem as I was getting a bit of an achy back after about 5-6 miles especially with my work backpack on (25l regatta backpack)

 

looking from above as before on the road bike the hub is sat forward of the handlebars when viewed from above with what I think is the standard 100mm stem, I recon going down to a 60mm (like the road bike) should be right, may go for a height adjustable one again like the road bike

 

 

[spikey]

First Poo Patrol of the year yesterday.  12 hilly and windy miles around the lanes on the Batavus, and the first time this year out of town with the electric gloves switched off all the time.  Even took me woolly 'at off at one point!  Very pleasant, but I don't know what's up with the horses round here as I came home with no more than 6Kg.  Maybe they need more roughage.

 

Anyhow, the front disc brake (Tektro) has decided to act strangely.  When I start to apply the brake and the end of the lever's travelled maybe 1.5 - 2cm, there's sudden and very distinct resistance to further travel.  Modest increased lever pressure easily overcomes the resistance and the brake then feels and functions perfectly normal.  It doesn't do it every time, and never on two successive brake applications unless they're at least a minute or two apart.

 

It feels like a piston could be stuck but then frees, but what's the odds on that?  Any ideas for a proper diagnosis and a cure?