What else would you expect from all involved?

The practical solutions are the easy bit ( safe ways in urban areas/ decent governance elsewhere
) .

The obstacle is getting our feckless corporate lackey politicians to actually do anything.

The problem is not the lack infrastructure but rather that the present stuff is actually worse than none at all.

Who in their right mind would ride down the left of vehicles? Yet the blue paint designers encourage it!,!

Ride in the middle of the road.

Can I phone a friend?

When I was a child, there was a car crash involving multiple vehicles in the centre of the village, a guy in a MK3 cortina had been drinking. He was speeding and went straight through a three way junction colliding with several cars.

Me and a few friends ran from our street when we heard the sound of the crashes arriving at the scene just seconds after it happened.

It was utter carnage, the drink drivers car was on its side, a Vauhall viva was on its roof and a Mini was was also on its side.

I looked inside the Mini and the occuapants, a elderly lady and a young girl were both unconsious with (in my memory image) blood splattered all over the place.

There were further injuries in the viva and a pedestrian. The cortina driver climbed out of his car and could hardly walk.

That incident was 1978 and am now 46 and have spent most of my career in the motor industry and the last four years developing telematics products that will hopefully contribute to road safety.

Cant help thinking that early experience has influenced the type of work I have become involved in.

I was about to post some middle age angst thread about shooting the TV and along comes your mood breaker.

Cheers.. what the kids say “lol”

Cyclist often ride like utter cocks on shared paths, their probably the same people who drive like cocks in cars. The guy needs to man up, what sort of bloke upsets old ladies then goes mincing to the plod. Why not stop and ask what’s getting her so angry?

90% of Christmas is retail.

Why not have the centres open extended hours but GP’s available at certain times. Most people have been weaned of the principle of a family GP and would settle for a medical professional with reasonable grasp of English and the vaguest sense of community.

Whilst cycling home this evening(in the rain) I was thinking “were can I move to that’s a few more miles from work/the station”. At the moment my commute is about 6 miles but I think 10 is about optimal, s,pose it depends on the terrain though and how busy the roads are.

What’s at the other side of your train commute ? Presuming the train station is near your work I would be looking at cycling to the station in the winter and all the way in the summer or if the weather looks fine anytime of year.

The shower thing is a red herring, some people do **** all and stink to high heaven, others (like me) can cycle everyday and smell of peaches. So you don’t need showers, your bike probably won’t get nicked, you wont get your soul taken for not wearing hi viz and you can drink beer all the way home without getting busted.

Go for it.

If the claims can be linked to the race records, Stravas pretty traceable, dodgy results are easy to spot and the wind blows for everyone.

Haven’t got any TT times but usually average 22mph on my 17lb Full Susser whenever I’m on he road.

I wouldn’t have a problem with un branded. There was a point a couple years ago when it seemed like everyone I rode with had some exotic mtb forks without problem. That’s brands gone from unknown to trusted.

The bit I’m concerned about is the 50mm rim whatever brand, there was a few points I was blown around today even with normal mavic rims.

What sort off gains am I getting from a deep rim in average speed terms?

Hadn’t the they hung body parts of dead marines outside the base just before this happened?

Seems like a reasonable reaction in the circumstances. So whilst it shouldn’t be the policy you can understand it.

Haha..who’d a thought a thread about fancy bikes ends up with getting half an hour before you go to bed?

I looked at a 2014 TCR with Tiagra @ £1099 in the lbs recently, I my opinion you will get 99% of any bike available performance gains from that.

The rest is up to you.

New policies are always cheaper than renewals or changes to suck you in

How would they get new customers otherwise?

Most brands seem to market a standard and premium version of their carbon road bikes, same geometry different carbon. Toray 800 versus 600 maybe but like steel it wont be all the higher grade carbon itll just be key areas which are often undefined.

So you have Bianchi Sempre and Oltre, TCR advanced and composite. Tarmac and Tarmac SL etc.

Many of the no brand frames seem to claim to be made of the higher grade carbon. Brands would say you are loosing out on some R&D but how much that R&D adds in terms of improved function is up for debate and I suspect many brands are just marketing department paying the eastern manufacturers to do the design and either paying for sole rights or a generic frame.

In my experience the difference between an average aluminum frame and just about any carbon frame is night and day, were as Im not able to feel that much difference between the different carbon frames in terms of say stiffness or vertical compliance.
I do still however like a brand, some have specific fetures, it has to motivate you to ride, look nice and generally have the feel good factor.

I own a Bianchi but only because it was on offer, when i last tested a load of carbon bikes the Giant TCR composite was my favourite, Geometry suited me, shaping looked well thought out, finish good and it came with some good parts for the price.

A bike with some lights, everything else is optional.

Worked in a garage for a few years, it was common practice to replace perfectly good parts and inflate bills. Especially easy to replace stuff such as brake discs and shock absorbers.

Go to waterstones and read the books, focus on achievements not history.

Bloke of a certain age becomes grumpy shocker!

As a man of a similar age and an occasional tendency to become arbitrarily and sometimes unexplainably pissed off with just about anything, I like him even more and I will throw a cup at anyone who disagrees.

Googled and read, interesting solution all the more so because a langster is on the n+1 list. I have a 54cm 2006 Allez as a winter bike at the moment, it’s pretty much the same geometry as that years Allez. There’s definitely not enough room for a reflector bracket on that bike, I had to cut a slot in some standard guards for for the front der bracket, there’s probably 5m max between the wheel and seat tube.

It’s the faff with various compromises that is making me look for something with more straightforward fixings/clearances.

Thanks for the checking the your bikes I will look again at those.

Ok so just for clarity then…

Do the recent model years Trek Madone(alu models), Giant Defy(alu) and Caad 8 all have fittings including bottom bracket support for full mudguards like sks chromoplastics not ones with cutouts for brakes or which stop short of the bottom bracket and 25mm tyres?

Yep, I have no first hand experience of the defy but when I enquired I was told I would need the giant own brand mudguard (similar to raceblade longs) .

Happy to be wrong though add another option to the list Is that a recent model year?

Overshoes- get really cold feet on road rides anything except Endura they cannot do stitching that doesn’t split or zips that don’t fail.

Gilet- usually enough for me in all but the very worst prolonged rain.

Thermal bibs- essentials

LS jersey- whatever you like.

Hat- keep yer heed warm

Buff – or similar from tkmaxx

Wool socks

Defeet gloves

This is a question I have spent waaaay too much time considering.

Cannondale caad 8- great looking bike but half arsed mudguard figment. Same could be said for the alu Treks and Giants . What’s the point in mudguard mounts that can’t fit proper guards and 25mm tyres.
CX bikes- loads to choose from most now have discs and you do get plenty of clearance. Can’t help feeling I won’t actually use the cx part of their design and there not that good looking to my eye.
Gravel bikes- vaya, plug, rove etc a bit too heavy for most riding.

Traditional UK bike- equilibrium, ribble, spa etc of this bunch I like the look of the Genesis the best, aren’t sold on discs so that leaves a Tiagra or 105 version with a 725 frame. They don’t have rack mounts but that’s not insurmountable and are my choice.

Wake up
Pee
Boil kettle
Lay out helmet, tool/money wallet, gloves etc
Coffee
Toast butter marmalade
Poo
Bum butter
Top of tyres
Acquire position
Ride

Defeet gloves, wiggle 12 quid , perfect.

Don’t think they ever weren’t with it, sometimes just not aligned with the uk market.

Winter road bikes….nice.

cybicle – Member
1999

You sure? That was when the finance act was past that made the scheme possible. Business is unlikely to have made substantial use of the new tax laws for quite a while after that date.

There are about 400,000 schemes annually btw or about the same amount as the step change noted in the chart.

Direct line cover up to 1k per bike away from home as standard (can be increased to 2k for extra) and up to contents limit of 50k within the home. Read the policy didn’t see a garage exclusion but worth asking.

When did btw begin?

Poorly designed cycle lanes caused this problem.

The cyle lane is clearly maked with arrows but diverges from the road a little further down the down, if you want to go that way theres no good way to cross form the lane on the correct side of the road.

Also looks like that lane is blocked by a parked car.

Another reason not to use half arsed attempts at cycle lanes, stick to the road its safer.

Woohay!!

I Pay Tax..since I bought two road bikes last year can I call it Road tax?

The difference is the young lady was riding a bike which is an inherently dangerous pastime requiring safety equipment and hi viz. you are actually putting yourself in harms way by choosing to cycle.

The second was a bloke going about his business in a normal way.

That and the the defendant being an educated person with a good doctor means its carry on as you were.

My god is this still going..ffs!

Has the Op said what he does for a living yet?

I pronounce this thread trolltastic and you lot have the hook, line and hi viz sinker.

Not you the OP!