Pedal Power Thread

neil_g

neil_g

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Anyone in to their biking (pedal powered not motorised)?

Feel free to tell us what you ride, where you do it, tips and tricks..

Interesting vids to start the thread off..

[YOUTUBE]7ZmJtYaUTa0[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]63o_cPZhk84[/YOUTUBE]
 
Inspired Bicycles - Danny MacAskill

[YOUTUBE]?v=Z19zFlPah-o[/YOUTUBE]
 
gotta love danny madskills..

ive recently acquired my first ride in 4 years, 2010 trek EX5:


trek by neilgates, on Flickr

Above standard parts - SLX twin ring crankset and hollowtech bb, Black Spire Dewlie chain device, DMR V8 Pedals. Got some Crank Brothers Iodine 2 bars and ODI Longneck grips to fit at some point.
 
Currently riding a Wilier Lavaredo. It's a lovely bike but in need of some 25s rather than the 23s on there currently with the roads getting more dicey in the wet weather.

I'm still chasing the holy grail of all bike riders...a comfortable saddle!
 
I have a Specialized Rockhopper pro disc from about 2008 I think. Not been out riding for ages due to surgery recently. Mostly ride it on road so might chop it in for a more road orientated bike.
 
I've got a 2009 kona cinder cone, nice bike. I have changed the stupid standard bars for some specialized low rise bars & better stem, it has a 203mm avid disk on the front with Hayes stroker brakes. Poor things been through the wars with me lol, its had 2 New rear mechs, 2 New chains, the fork lockout has now become obsolete, numerous new inner tubes &tires. its got road slicks on at the minute, speedy speedy :)
 
Mines a trek remedy 2012 love it to bits but will love it even more when we move down south in the sun lol.
 
Mine's an Ellsworth Specialist. Just finished building it all up myself earlier this year. Also got a Pashley 26Mhz from my trial riding days.

2mri06u.jpg
 
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Have a Klein Attitude hardtail for 10yrs or so now. I ride around the Trossachs trails although not as much as I should.

Danny 'Megaskills' Macaskill is amazing, but gotta admire Joe Barnes descending Ben A'An which is tricky enough to walk...:clap:

[YOUTUBE]rMwpO25nWno[/YOUTUBE]
 
AndyB1976 said:
Have a Klein Attitude hardtail for 10yrs or so now. I ride around the Trossachs trails although not as much as I should.

Danny 'Megaskills' Macaskill is amazing, but gotta admire Joe Barnes descending Ben A'An which is tricky enough to walk...:clap:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMwpO25nWno">YouTube Link</a>
Click to expand...

Cool, that looks like fun.. Wish we had technical stuff like that down south.

Those orange bikes always impress me too, always look super capable..
 
Got massively into mtb over the past 6 months. Ride a 2012 Cannondale hardtail, living on the doorstep of Sherwood Pines, so learning my trade there and on longer trips to the peak district, a handful of 50 milers and one century in the bag so far.
I watched that Martyn Ashton video the other day, colossally humbling......I am happy just to have started getting bunny hopping and manuals under braking on the go.
 
Matty2 said:
Got massively into mtb over the past 6 months. Ride a 2012 Cannondale hardtail, living on the doorstep of Sherwood Pines, so learning my trade there and on longer trips to the peak district, a handful of 50 milers and one century in the bag so far.
I watched that Martyn Ashton video the other day, colossally humbling......I am happy just to have started getting bunny hopping and manuals under braking on the go.
Click to expand...

If you ever get a chance to watch the bike tour (http://biketour.animal.co.uk) with him and normally Blake Sampson if he's not off somewhere its pretty good.

Retro fact - I've met both Martins :D
 
Another vid that I found quite interesting, especially the use of a BFH to align the frame :LOL:

[YOUTUBE]mlIYEdRFQu4[/YOUTUBE]
 
gotta love a guy martin vid :)

fitted my crank bros all mountain bars and deity stem at the weekend, just waiting for a 5mm steerer spacer to arrive..

been sorting my xmas list out too, thinking of either some nice hope M4 stoppers or some hope evo on mavic rims..

crazy mofos..

[youtube]1qibdNgWU_M[/youtube]

3:37 is a bit mental..
 
Mrs Y and I are lucky (barmy?) enough to have fourteen bikes and two recumbent trikes between us, so I suppose we are definitely "into" cycling. We are totally of the road persuasion. I have nothing against mountain bikes, but my old bones don't heal quite so quickly these days.

We do a bit of touring on our Dave Yates load humpers and we also like a sprint or two on a Cannondale SL carbon and Mrs Y's Giant TCR CW. The other bikes are used as the whim takes us. A couple are ancient old rattlers of 80's vintage which are so rusty, manky and worthless we can safely leave them unlocked outside our favourite watering hole.

Incidentally, one of the main reasons I bought the Fuji X10 a bit back, was for ease of carrying on the bikes.
 
My Santa Cruz Nomad do it all bike.

262096_10150363347183502_5463585_n.jpg


269627_10150363347108502_2918354_n.jpg
 
neil_g said:
I see wiggins has suspect bust ribs after an argument with an Astra... :-/ get we'll soon Bradley!
Click to expand...

Oh bugger. Have you got the link to that article? Would like to read about that.
 
My commuter bike after last night's happenings - all the paint went and then it just started melting :-(
21233_883966169774_1655954739_n.jpg
 
I see the woman who dismounted wiggins has been summonsed for driving without due care.. I hope this leads to more drivers taking more care.

Glad to hear the coach who was also knocked off with the brain bleed is doing well too.
 
Got stopped today on cycle track and was asked some questions, it was a government survey on the cycling in the uk. Anyone else done the survey.?
 
I cycle to work and back as often as I can (ie when I don't need to be offsite). I drive on average 600 miles a week with work so I don't cycle as much as I'd like.

Basingstoke has quite a few cycle paths so I don't need to go on the roads too often. When I do go on the roads I always cycle 2' from the kerb and keep my place - I won't cycle in the gutter just so cars don't have to wait - you need to be near the middle of the road so the cars can see you better - although where possible I will jump onto the path to let cars past.

I always wear a lid and hi vis clothing - including a natty waistcoat which says POLITE but looks like a police jacket. This works wonders - it really does - and the police have said I'm ok to wear it.

my only complaint is when the police make a big issue about riding on pavements. In our area it's often hard to work out where the cycle path ends since many of them are not marked. you can quite easily find yourself riding where you shouldn't. They are really clamping down on it here, but my son is scared of the roads so often gets 'spoken' to by officers. Now my son doesn't ride fast and always stops or gets off his bike for peds, even when he has right of way. I know the police have to draw the line somewhere, and not everyone is as polite as my son, but I think if the police watched him for a few minutes, they'd see that he isn't causing a hazard.

anyway - rant over

my bike was half price from Halfords and is a hybrid with aluminium frame, disk brakes and 'flip' gear change so I am well happy with it. If ever I need to park in town we have cages where you can put your bike and helmet and everything which are brilliant. Only complaint is that they're all located in dark corners where no-one goes.

mind you after watching this I don't suppose it matters.

only thing I haven't worked out yet is how to stop the botty pain *ouch* - gel seats etc just don't work
 
sturisoma said:
I cycle to work and back as often as I can (ie when I don't need to be offsite). I drive on average 600 miles a week with work so I don't cycle as much as I'd like.

Basingstoke has quite a few cycle paths so I don't need to go on the roads too often. When I do go on the roads I always cycle 2' from the kerb and keep my place - I won't cycle in the gutter just so cars don't have to wait - you need to be near the middle of the road so the cars can see you better - although where possible I will jump onto the path to let cars past.

I always wear a lid and hi vis clothing - including a natty waistcoat which says POLITE but looks like a police jacket. This works wonders - it really does - and the police have said I'm ok to wear it.

my only complaint is when the police make a big issue about riding on pavements. In our area it's often hard to work out where the cycle path ends since many of them are not marked. you can quite easily find yourself riding where you shouldn't. They are really clamping down on it here, but my son is scared of the roads so often gets 'spoken' to by officers. Now my son doesn't ride fast and always stops or gets off his bike for peds, even when he has right of way. I know the police have to draw the line somewhere, and not everyone is as polite as my son, but I think if the police watched him for a few minutes, they'd see that he isn't causing a hazard.

anyway - rant over

my bike was half price from Halfords and is a hybrid with aluminium frame, disk brakes and 'flip' gear change so I am well happy with it. If ever I need to park in town we have cages where you can put your bike and helmet and everything which are brilliant. Only complaint is that they're all located in dark corners where no-one goes.

mind you after watching this I don't suppose it matters.

only thing I haven't worked out yet is how to stop the botty pain *ouch* - gel seats etc just don't work
Click to expand...

I cycle to work in London, though not every day and not since September, but hope to get back on the bike tomorrow. Re 'seating issues' I think the only answer is proper padded cycling shorts - I did my first triathlon this year, only a 40k bike ride but I found the padded shorts great (or maybe the burn on my neck from the wetsuit numbed all other pain! :puke:).

Re Cycling on the pavement, where I am it drives me crazy, I've got a nearly 2 year old and coming onto the pavement people often go way to fast - I'm by his side but it has the potential to be dangerous. I certainly think young children should be allowed to cycle on pavements, roads far too dangerous, however young adults onto the road in residential areas anyway.

Hoping to get a roadbike in the next couple of months, did my triathlon on my hybrid which was fine but I need, well want, a roadbike now. Sadly upgrading the engine is not proving as easy!

I've been doing lots and lots of research, if anyone is looking for an entry level Roadbike, the Btwin Triban 3 from Decathlon is a mere £300. Undecided whether to get one yet, waiting to see if we get a cycle scheme at work, or look for something second hand.
 
A comfortable bike saddle is the holy grail of cyclists and the only real way to find the right one is trial and error. Don't get sucked into believing that wider and more padding automatically mean comfier, though. It's much more about the shape. Some people even swear by unpadded carbon fibre, no doubt because it perfectly fits the shape of their bum and their weight goes on the right areas rather than the wrong areas.
 
it's more to do with friction *ahem* of certain areas
 
I'm a Roadie, I ride a Orbea Aqua with a 105 groupset. Sometimes even cycle the 30 miles to work, but mainly go out in the evenings after the kids are in bed. It's nice to get out and clear the head.
 
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