by bicycle.

Well that was interesting. . .

First point always test your bike first, skipping gears are not NOT fun. 👿
Use grips you like not those in the spares bin.
Schwalbe marathon plus are not puncture proof, I'll confirm this later.
Beating the bus is fun.
As is passing traffic jams
White van men don't deserve the rep they have got.
Drivers of small cars (clio yaris 😮 ) open your f**king eyes.
panniers are a must, my backpack just doesn't cut it.
Snow, sleet and rain should be the preserve of the North.

Whilst on the subject can someone recommend a pannier rack and bags to fit this, cheap as possible please.

White van men don't deserve the rep they have got.

you're right, they're worse!

😆 one gave way to me although the van was silver.

Also does anyone ride those funny shaped bars, mary bars i think there called?

This was the best value rack I found when I was looking 6 months ago. Was only a tenner then I think, but plenty sturdy and fits 700c wheels as well as 26 inchers. here

that looks just the job, have you got bags as well?

Only needed one pannier, so I got a decent second hand Karrimor off e-bay.

cheers pal will look into it. might check out bike radar reviews.

Tails, I run Mary's. I use to suffer with really bad pains in my wrists and shoulders when using normal risers so tried ergon grips first, which helped a bit but then I fitted Mary's and the pain went completely. I ride my bike virtually everyday and have found them much more comfortable than normal risers. They seem to put my wrists in a more natural angled posistion.

thanks steelfan, i was looking at getting a bit more of a sit up and beg position for the commute.

Is that a Marin?

Tails, I wouldn't say they give a sit up and beg ride posistion if you use a normal length/rise stem. They are reasonably wide at 660mm. I run an 80mm 35deg on-one stem on an 18inch Inbred which is pretty long and low and the steerer on my forks is pretty short. You can normally pick them up pretty cheap and on-one were doing them for £15 at one point but not sure now. Certainly worth trying them out but you may need a different stem to get that sit up and beg posistion.

Thanks steelfan.

Yes it is a marin, stolen from a skip quite some years ago, and sat tangled up being used for spacers/bolts since the forks are kona P2 and bars stem 24seven.

The white van man I saw this morning fishtailing all over the road towards the back of a stationary van he hadn't seen didn't do their reputation any good…

Same here, I enjoy a commute and just use one pannier bag but I guess with food shopping you could use 2.

Find you can breathe better without a backpack restricting you.

How did you puncture the marathon plus's???

Using xtr rear mech?

I'm not sure zasker, can't work out whether it is leaky tube or bad fitting. I did cycle over some glass masquerading as ice but they were still hard at work, and the rubber makes them feel as if they have air in them anyway. I'll pump it up to make sure.

No thats a SRAM X7 being used as a single speed tensioner.

I got an Carradice SQR tour saddle pack – 16litre and does not move around, plus un clips in a few sets and no need to fit a rack – will post a picture if you like

I see what you mean rootes1 bit expensive though.

Wiggle do them for 50-60 quid (three types of SQR) , but you do save the cost of buying a rack. Plus they are waterproof. also when not in use you only have a small bit left on the bike

Also if you are looking for a more up right position, you could try some north road handlebars – Raleigh do some for £12