[Closed] London cycling.

*waves*

i think thats true everywhere nowadays isnt it?
what with the price of diesel etc.

what you doing down this way Jo?

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)

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?...

cushty 8)

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

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...

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.

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.

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.

it's all about kickstart-tramp-style on a vintage upright for 2011 donchaknow

[img] [/img]

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...

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?????

also persistent rumours of a bit of cheeky dh at hampstead heath?????

Downhill riding by day, uphill gardening by night 😯

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 8)

Not sure about the sneaky bit though, what's that about? You been scared by one?

Yeah they sneak up on you when you're not expecting it, the nasty little things.

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.

Yeah they sneak up on you when you're not expecting it, the nasty little things.

your going too slow 😉

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 point

Fashion innit...

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

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...

[img] http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ2cLYPIwNiu9ur-X7nEWhv2iDh-xXp1JGZ5EqGfDVvNtAY_ywx [/img]

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.

Just watch out for buses as they can make a mess of your sister's jeans.....

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.

"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.

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......

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.

fixed is for the track, not traffic.

Amen, brother! Amen! 🙂

fixed is for the track, not traffic.

i ride mine to the track, is that allowed?

i ride mine to the track, is that allowed?

I don't know, does it involve traffic?

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.

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

Funny, I don't find my Brompton realy that twitchy at all. OK it doesn't ride like a full sus or a carbon road bike, but I'd advise anyone to spend 30 minutes riding one before commenting. It's a revalation in personal transport (at least during this dry spell).

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.

you have actually chosen a perfect example for riding fixed over free, you can resist and modulate your speed without locking your rear wheel and without touching the front brake.
the front wheel/brake combo is same on either fixed or freewheel bike, having a fixed rear is far more controllable on slippery surfaces than a brake, fixed is like abs or engine braking in a car as you can only lock the the wheel if you lock your legs.

I'm going to Beastway tonight so drove in to work with the bike in the car....took 25 mins. Normal commute by bike from aforementioned Crouch End = 15mins.

AND.....I reckon I'm actually warmer in winter on the bike than I am walking to the bus stop then shivering on the platform at Finsbury Park.

AND.....London is really pretty, but you only really see it when you are on a bike.

I love cycling in London.

you can resist and modulate your speed without locking your rear wheel and without touching the front brake

apparently it is not good for your knees to do this - we are not evolved for the type of stresses that causes.

apparently it is not good for your knees to do this - we are not evolved for the type of stresses that causes.

Hence the tight-fitting denim knee supports that fixie riders wear.

[url=

apparently it is not good for your knees to do this - we are not evolved for the type of stresses that causes.

apparently they said that about singlespeeding and motor powered travel faster than a galloping horse too.

there is a difference between speed moderation and overgeared fixie-pricks doing lock up skids and weaving down the road.

[b]Yawn.[/b]

Really a fixed wheel debate?

Can't we all just get along -there are pricks on all sorts of bikes. It's just the ones on fixies have beards and tighter jeans. Hopefully the idiots will learn to ride considerately and not influence the noobs along the way.

I see too much cutting up, running lights/zebra crossings - it just gives us all a bad name and makes taxi drivers want to knock us off even more.

MrSmith

you have actually chosen a perfect example for riding fixed over free, you can resist and modulate your speed without locking your rear wheel and without touching the front brake.
the front wheel/brake combo is same on either fixed or freewheel bike, having a fixed rear is far more controllable on slippery surfaces than a brake, fixed is like abs or engine braking in a car as you can only lock the the wheel if you lock your legs.

Fixies are cool. As Kevin Bacon can prove...

(it does gain a freewheel at certain points)