Cycling chat

[big jim]

Timmy mallet on twitter is currently cycling around Scotland following the footsteps of his aunt, quite an interesting journey and really makes me want to head up ti the Highlands and cycle some of the old railways lines, or indeed do arrochar to Glasgow again in more favourable weather

 

 

[Nearholmer]

March has been a very frustrating month for me in respect of cycling, indeed in respect of any form of fresh air and exercise. I’ve been very taken up with family matters, and pretty much every day I haven’t it’s been raining and blowing a minor gale. I’m down to one decent ride a week.
 

Still, my “spring indicator” plum tree has now started to blossom at last, ten days late as compared with a good year, so I’m looking forward to April.

 

Edited March 28, 2023 by Nearholmer

[big jim]

Time to get back into it again!

 

Dropped my car off at a mates on the wirral for a bit of work and decided to ride back as far as Chester and get the train back from there, luckily I mangaged to miss the rain, it was pouring down when I got to his house but cleared just before I set off and it held off all the way back, windy though on the wirral peninsula but luckily it was a side wind then a slight tail wind so not too bad

 

I’ve not been on the bike for about 5 months and I’ve put a lot of weight back on so didn’t want to overdo it on my first trip out, i struggled a bit at 15 miles on the very slight climb back into Chester, just the wrong time to zap the energy out of me, certainly don’t think I’d have been able to do the extra 25 mile back to crewe today but pleased with what I managed 

 

 

if I can get the bike in the car I’m going to take it to the caravan tomorrow and try and get a few gentle rides in around silloth 

[tractionman]

I'd be very happy with that @big jim for a first trip out on the bike after a long break 👍

 

cheers,

 

Keith 

[big jim]

13 minutes ago, tractionman said:

I'd be very happy with that @big jim for a first trip out on the bike after a long break 👍

 

cheers,

 

Keith 

i typed that on the train back to crewe, I then had to do the 2.5 mile ride from the station to home and it absolutely killed me, the ride normally took me 9 minutes when I was thinner/fitter but it took me 14 minutes today, headwind, sore bum and and no energy left! 
 

bike is all washed after the trip, loaded into the car and ready for a few days up at silloth (weather permitting)

 

 

 

[big jim]

Lovely afternoon in silloth so went for a short trundle around the circuit, bit of a wind heading back north but nothing too bad

 

Saw an owl en route, being hounded by a crow, looked to have a damaged wing, was flying alright but it certainly didn’t look right, not what I expected to see in the day that’s for sure! It landed on a signpost next to me but flew off before I could get my camera out

 

 

 

[Nickey Line]

On 20/03/2022 at 18:05, Nickey Line said:

The aerodrome is the home of the Shuttleworth collection, which has a cafe that was well-used by walkers and cyclists, but has recently been closed to all except paying visitors to the museum, grrr...

 

Going back to this post last year, I'm happy to report that the Runway Café has been re-opened to the general public, as of 27th March, in spite of the fact I was told the loss of access was permanent. My guess is they've found that the café was not making enough money! Which is exactly what I told them would happen...

Popped out there for lunch with a couple of pals today just to make sure! Access to the museum and Swiss Garden is now through the gift shop, and the old public entrance on Hill Lane has been re-opened.

 

[08221]

Last year I bought myself a Michael Blast Greaser ebike to help me get more active and lose weight in order to reverse my diabetes.

 

I managed to lose over 4 stone and succeeded in my reversal quest, the ebike was starting to feel too heavy and sluggish and was drawing a bit too much attention for my liking.

 

I've been doing loads of walking but missed riding so recently sold the ebike and bought this instead - its a Boardman hybrid comp. Its so light - I can whizz up hills like I was 40 yeats younger! Its put the joy back in riding for me so every trip into town, to church, etc. is now being done on 2 wheels rather than 2 legs!

 

[big jim]

Sound like you went down the same route as me, use the ebike to get fit then realise you don’t need it so go conventional

 

i found it hard the first few trips, you don’t realise how much the ebike helped on the hills but you soon get used to it, one thing I found is for quite a while on the normal bike by cruising speed seemed to level out around 15mph as that’s what the ebike cut out at, took a while to get my muscle memory getting me over that speed! 
 

 

[Mark Forrest]

Up to the Lakes for a ride yesterday for a nice longish XC loop starting out from Grizedale and circumnavigating Coniston Water.

From High Cross car park (nr Hawkshead) up towards the trail centre at Grizedale, but instead of heading into the forest, down to Parkamoor and through Blawit. Up onto Woodland Fell, then down into Torver then back up again past Scarr Head to reach Walna Scar road for the descent down into Coniston.

A bit of quiet road lead to the bridleway from High Tilberthwaite, past the disused quarries, High Oxon Fell, Iron Keld and down to Knipe Fold. Got to be honest, I didn't have much left in my legs for the last climb on the road up Hawkshead Hill and was relieved to see the entrance to the car park.

Main reason for heading up that way was that Mrs F had sold a bike frame to someone in Preston and it was easier to drop it off than send as a parcel.  We got really lucky with the weather, perfect conditions and couldn't have asked for a better day for it. The route was great, nothing very technical but a decent amount of climbing and some amazing views, 3900' in 26.5 miles.

[Nickey Line]

10 hours ago, Mark Forrest said:

We got really lucky with the weather, perfect conditions and couldn't have asked for a better day for it.

 

And all to yourselves by the look of it!

[Mark Forrest]

58 minutes ago, Nickey Line said:

 

And all to yourselves by the look of it!

Yes, it was surprisingly quiet, only place that was remotely busy was the car park off Walna Scar Road which was packed!

[big jim]

Dominic has got a new job in town (after being royally shafted by the holiday park he was working at!) so i got the electric bike out of the shed to have a look at as it was playing up at the end of last year, the motor kept on sticking on and would only stop if you pulled the brake then the slightest movement would make the motor power on by itself 

 

 

after a bit of fault finding I narrowed the problem down to the thumb throttle, more to the point the cable between the throttle and control unit, a proper nest of cables in there!

 

bought some alarm cable from B&Q and made a new cable which cured the issue, put it all back together only to discover once I refitted the cable guide and moved one of the wires about slightly it stopped working again when turning the pedal but it worked on the throttle fine, a bit more fault finding and it appears the cable to the crank sensor is also faulty, hardly surprising as all the wires are routed to the cable channel through this single hole with no rubber grommet!

 

I’ve managed to find a similar looking crank sensor on Amazon for £8 which should be here by 1pm tomorrow so hopefully that will cure the motor not working on the pedal, if it doesn’t work it will at least work via the throttle, here’s hoping! 

[jcredfer]

Wow, those cables are a right mess, particularly in this day and age, with so many multi connectors about.  You did a good job tracing through all that lot.

 

[big jim]

The bike is about 15 years old, if not more, it’s certainly showing it’s age compared to today’s technology but it soldiers on, no point buying a new one for what he needs it for, i’ve routed the new throttle cable inside the frame/battery compartment and out via an existing hole at the top, I might well move a couple of other cables that way too, the power switch and charge cables exit the battery area and run outside the frame only to re-enter it via that hole again so I can’t see any issue of them  running inside the frame, they won’t short out on anything and there is room alongside the battery 

 

i forgot quite how heavy old E-bikes are when I came to lift it onto the stand, especially when I moved my carbon bike afterwards! 

Edited April 9, 2023 by big jim

[big jim]

The sensor arrived today and as suspected the mount and ring were the wrong size but the sensor was exactly what I was after, screwed straight in to the existing ring 

 

Had to solder a connection to the motor as per the original sensor 

 

Tidied up the wiring, moving relevant wires into the battery space

 

 

works perfectly

Took it for a test ride, the brakes are terrible on it, have been like that for a while so I took the pads out for a look, the fronts were a bit shot at, appear to have worn down the retaining clip too!

 

The rears weren’t too bad but one side was more worn than the other, It looks like the calliper was sitting slightly too far to one side, I’ve loosened it up on the mounts and will align it up once I’ve put new pads in it, they should be here tomorrow 

 

While I was at it I got the carbon bike ready for summer, took the turbo trainer wheel off and fitted new brake pads, I’ve had terrible noise coming from the old pads since I’ve had it, put fresh ones in so hopefully it will be quiet now, had to loosen and align the rear calliper as it was binding slightly due to the thicker pads but once down the rear wheel spun freely, had a ride to the station to pick up my car and it was silent when i used the brakes so hoping it stays like that!

 

 

[jcredfer]

Got my "come-upance" this week.  Jumped on the bike to check out  some Pharmacy paperwork for Mrs R, only a round trip of just over 7 miles - and pleasant weather for a change.  I had gone most of the way and mounted a pavement, at a section of lowered curb, followed by some stiff steering and bungy feel, as the inner tube lost it's pressure.  A quick check showed no evidence of a puncture site and a realisation that the inner tube was bought before the dog and he's 13 1/2 !  As luck would have it, our local cycle shop was only 200 yards down the road, so a gentle walk for a replacement.  I left it with them and walked the 300 yards to the pharmacy, to get the paperwork checked and returned in time to get on the bike and go back home.

 

The Sun was definitely shining that day!

 

[Nearholmer]

Bike springtime maintenance all by the sounds of it.

 

My posh bike needs a deep clean, BB bearing and headset check/grease, new pads, and new bar tape soon, and I’m not sure the back tyre will last a great deal longer.

 

This morning I rode out into rurality, and sat on a log pile to eat a supplementary breakfast, which was rather pleasant. Mind you, I think I’ve possibly had too many supplementary breakfasts lately; all my trouser waistbands seem to have shrunk a bit over the past few weeks.

 

 

 

[Pete the Elaner]

2 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

Bike springtime maintenance all by the sounds of it.

 

My posh bike needs a deep clean, BB bearing and headset check/grease, new pads, and new bar tape soon, and I’m not sure the back tyre will last a great deal longer.

 

This morning I rode out into rurality, and sat on a log pile to eat a supplementary breakfast, which was rather pleasant. Mind you, I think I’ve possibly had too many supplementary breakfasts lately; all my trouser waistbands seem to have shrunk a bit over the past few weeks.

 

 

You went out this morning?

You are welcome to join us from Newport Pagnell. We are not a club so there are no joining fees. We don't leave anyone behind, we don't decide on a route until we know everyone is comfortable with it & we usually fit in a coffee stop.
We usually meet at the bike shop at 9 in the winter or 8.30 in the summer. It was 9 today but may move to 8.30 next week.

Edited April 9, 2023 by Pete the Elaner
To make sense...

[Nearholmer]

Thanks Pete, good offer, but it is exceedingly rare for me to cycle other than family rides on Sundays. Today the dog and I got left behind while everyone else went to Legoland, and once I’d walked the dog, and she’d curled up and gone to sleep, I couldn’t resist.

 

PS: you’d really have to slow down not to drop me!

[Coldgunner]

So I've acquired a bike from my dads shed, not a brilliant one but servicable. The tyres are good and inner tubes are holding air. From is a disc brake, rear are calipers. Rears need adjusting as they're just not good (need new pads I think). Also the gears sometimes keep jumping a bit, not sure if something needs adjusting (I don't know how to) or if a good oiling and running in will fix it.

 

Couple of things to address still. Need a lock and front light, haven't bought a helmet yet and maybe a hi-vis bandolier of some sort.

 

I'm not a big fan of cyclists (also not a fan of bad driving either), but will be interesting to see the other perspective.

[08221]

21 minutes ago, Coldgunner said:

So I've acquired a bike from my dads shed, not a brilliant one but servicable. The tyres are good and inner tubes are holding air. From is a disc brake, rear are calipers. Rears need adjusting as they're just not good (need new pads I think). Also the gears sometimes keep jumping a bit, not sure if something needs adjusting (I don't know how to) or if a good oiling and running in will fix it.

 

Couple of things to address still. Need a lock and front light, haven't bought a helmet yet and maybe a hi-vis bandolier of some sort.

 

I'm not a big fan of cyclists (also not a fan of bad driving either), but will be interesting to see the other perspective.

Have fun!

 

There are plenty of videos on YouTube showing you how to adjust your gears - it’s a good feeling when they change smoothly!

 

Don't forget a good back light too - or a couple.

[Mark Forrest]

52 minutes ago, Coldgunner said:

I'm not a big fan of cyclists (also not a fan of bad driving either), but will be interesting to see the other perspective.

Give it a couple of weeks and you'll be riding through red traffic lights and pulling wheelies on pavements just like the rest of us. 

 

[Coldgunner]

2 hours ago, 08221 said:

Have fun!

 

There are plenty of videos on YouTube showing you how to adjust your gears - it’s a good feeling when they change smoothly!

 

Don't forget a good back light too - or a couple.

 

Got a new set of front and backs coming, already got a back light but its a bit small. I am going to make sure they're angled down though. A bug bear I have when driving is bike lights pointing straight ahead, as some are very much like a high beam.

[tractionman]

anyone been out on their bike recently :-)

 

I was out on Friday, a mixture of train and bike to / from work, then on Saturday with my son, down at Tollymore Forest Park, enjoying the scenery and sunshine:

 

 

 

 

cheers,

 

Keith