VIsiting London for the first time in 10 years. And I'm pleasantly surprised by the massive number of cyclists there are everywhere. When I lived here in the 90s the only people on bikes were couriers.
Bike Forum
London cycling.
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Posted 1 year ago #
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*waves*
Posted 1 year ago # -
i think thats true everywhere nowadays isnt it?
what with the price of diesel etc.Posted 1 year ago # -
what you doing down this way Jo?
Posted 1 year ago # -
london is cycling crazy for several reasons
the hire bike scheme has been a massive success
the tube is so busy, cycling you get just as sweaty but its your own sweat
the traffic is so bad you get there quickest by bike
being a super trendy fakenger fixie rider is currently the height of cool
and borris keeps wheeling out kelly brook to promote cycling (ken laid a lot of the groundwork but borris knows how to sell himslef)Posted 1 year ago # -
CHunky, I'm educating the children, we're going to see the houses of parliament and everything.
The price of diesel here is worse than in aberdeen-shire. I guess the fact that all the oilies live there must make a difference.
ABout the bikes though, you'd think someone would have introduced gears and freehubs wouldn't you? And is there a metropolitan handlebar shortage that means you have to share one between two and cut them in half?...Posted 1 year ago # -
cushty
Posted 1 year ago # -
london is so pan-flat you don't need gears, ss makes commuting cheap and less likely to break
those knobby little bars are daft though
Posted 1 year ago # -
Was stunned to see someone pushing an Intense dh bike and carrying a full facer across Westminster bridge today... is there some urban dh on the south bank or something? All I saw were a couple of flights of steps...
Posted 1 year ago # -
Mightuv bin going to or coming from Waterloo station, to ride Surrey Hills or something like that. Mightuv bin pushing it to a bike shop somewhere. Did it look borked?
Not likely an urban 'freerider', as a DH bike would be crap for that sort of thing, just too big and heavy.
london is so pan-flat you don't need gears,
Not all of it. Try Swains Lane on a SS.
SS is fine for most other stuff mind. With decent width bars of course.
And Fixies on public roads are nothing more than a menace.
Posted 1 year ago # -
And Fixies on public roads are nothing more than a menace.
Do you mean brake-less bikes? "Fixies" are just no more of a menace than any other bike so long as they have brakes, surely.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Yeah, those 'trendy' ones with 2" wide bars, ridden by twunts with no road sense, bike handling skills or the ability to realise how stupid they look...
No, I'm being bitter and resentful now, but there are too many unroadworthy bikes being ridden around by people without sufficient roadcraft, it must be said.
Nice to see that more young ladies are taking to the far more practical and stylish roadsters and Dutch bikes these days. Hopefully the Fixie craze is on the wane..
Bromptons though. Do my head in, twitchy little sneaky nasty things.
Posted 1 year ago # -
it's all about kickstart-tramp-style on a vintage upright for 2011 donchaknow
Posted 1 year ago # -
The first time when I visited London I really liked the look of "fixies", but after moving here and living for past 7 months I now know what kind of people ride them...
Posted 1 year ago # -
as for the dh intense guy
you can get the train from marylebone to wendover takes about 45mins
bit of a cycle up to aston hill but well worth it for a days dh
maybe he was just heading home south of the river after a riding
also persistent rumours of a bit of cheeky dh at hampstead heath?????Posted 1 year ago # -
also persistent rumours of a bit of cheeky dh at hampstead heath?????
Downhill riding by day, uphill gardening by night
Posted 1 year ago # -
Bromptons though. Do my head in, twitchy little sneaky nasty things.
Bromptons rock Elfin... I love mine, definitely twitchy handling, but great once you get used to it
Not sure about the sneaky bit though, what's that about? You been scared by one?
Posted 1 year ago # -
Yeah they sneak up on you when you're not expecting it, the nasty little things.
Posted 1 year ago # -
No, I'm being bitter and resentful now, but there are too many unroadworthy bikes being ridden around by people without sufficient roadcraft, it must be said.
most of the shonky bikes being ridden in london are cheapo mtb's, their owners (unless they are stolen and just borrowing them) tend not to have much road sense or care about their safety.
Posted 12 months ago # -
Yeah they sneak up on you when you're not expecting it, the nasty little things.
your going too slow
Posted 12 months ago # -
Are the narrow bars for -
1) Squeezing between cars easier
2) Easier to lock up / cause less obstruction / squeeze more bikes together in a given locking pointPosted 12 months ago # -
Fashion innit...
Posted 12 months ago # -
psychle - Member
Fashion innit...And just like fashion, it will move on. Hopefully very soon, as I am fed up of moronic FRTs* giving the rest of us cyclists a bad name.
*Fixie riding ****monkeys
Posted 12 months ago # -
Was stunned to see someone pushing an Intense dh bike and carrying a full facer across Westminster bridge today... is there some urban dh on the south bank or something? All I saw were a couple of flights of steps...
Possibly going to the skate park at Southbank...
Posted 12 months ago # -
McHamish - Member
Was stunned to see someone pushing an Intense dh bike and carrying a full facer across Westminster bridge today... is there some urban dh on the south bank or something? All I saw were a couple of flights of steps...
Possibly going to the skate park at Southbank...
Or riding/to from the train station to go and play at Chicky or something.
Posted 12 months ago # -
Just watch out for buses as they can make a mess of your sister's jeans.....
Posted 12 months ago # -
It's taken me a long time to realise it, but most of the fixies round town being ridden by the 'on trend' folk are in fact running freewheels- sure there's a fair few exceptions, but I reckon a lot of flip flop hubs got flopped after the first ride down the hill to Crouch End.
Posted 12 months ago # -
"Was stunned to see someone pushing an Intense dh bike and carrying a full facer across Westminster bridge today... is there some urban dh on the south bank or something? All I saw were a couple of flights of steps... "
The prospect of trying to ride a big mountain bike like that, designed for slashing dirt on Big Bear or wherever, on a $hitty set of steps on the South Bank is just TOO sad. "OOOH, look, you got six inches of air". I do not understand people who attempt to ride long-wheelbase DH bikes on halfpipes either. I think we have MBUK to thank for this kind of retarded japery.
The thing I notice around London is the number of people you see riding with squeaking cranks. You know in three days they'll be walking into the bike shop with said crank in a plastic bag asking what went wrong when all they have to do is google "squeaky crank" pre-emptively.
Posted 12 months ago # -
The thing I notice around London is the number of people you see riding with squeaking cranks. You know in three days they'll be walking into the bike shop with said crank in a plastic bag asking what went wrong when all they have to do is google "squeaky crank" pre-emptively.
Look at the face of ANY London bike mechanic when a Create fixie is wheeled in to the shop......
Posted 12 months ago # -
I reckon a lot of flip flop hubs got flopped after the first ride down the hill to Crouch End.
I set mine to flopped to start with and have no intention of flipping it, fixed is for the track, not traffic.
Posted 12 months ago # -
fixed is for the track, not traffic.
Amen, brother! Amen!
Posted 12 months ago # -
fixed is for the track, not traffic.
i ride mine to the track, is that allowed?
Posted 12 months ago # -
i ride mine to the track, is that allowed?
I don't know, does it involve traffic?
Posted 12 months ago # -
Ahhhhh, good old fixies! I've followed many online debates about the safety of running just a front brake and how a fixed wheel was just as good as a back brake. Couldn't really comment either way, but common sense suggested that 2 brakes are better then one..... Cut to last winter when I ended up on the Watership down Audax. It was fairly chilly that day and there had been a front, which led to the shaded side of the hills being covered in ice. I can tell you for fact, that in the ice, a freewheel and 2 rim brakes is much more affective at not landing you on your arse than grabbing a handfull of front and locking it up.
Posted 12 months ago # -
was drafting a fixie fakenger in this morning, till he tried to slow for some lights and got all squiffy skidding all over the place- to be fair he managed not to go down but i must rmemeber not to tailgate these fixie menaces
Posted 12 months ago #
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