Kojaklollipop – Member
I don't have tri bars but I put some old bar ends in the middle of my mtb commuter bars

That wouldn't be on a Specialized? Please tell me it wasn't you that overtook me on a right turn a few weeks ago!

No, not me DezB, I'm on a Rock Lobster 🙂 … so I'm not the only one then, I've had quite a few 'oh, that's a good idea' comments

I don't have tri bars but I put some old bar ends in the middle of my mtb commuter bars, mainly because I usually have a strong headwind in one direction along an open coast route, and I find these definately make a difference, doesn't get me low but gets my arms out of the wind – actaully makes a few mph difference, but I don't do it for the speed but to make it easier, an hour into a strong headwind isn't much fun at the end of the working day!

Why zip ties? – If security want to look in my bag they can cut the ties rather than destroy any padlocks or cut the bag open and they can easily be replaced, and it deters the opportunist thefts.

And I said nothing about doing this to my hand luggage – scotia 🙄

Thanks for the replies 🙂

Smashing … thanks everyone!

😀

No worries.

I've just insured myself with them for a year/multitrips, best to phone them up to make sure you get the right cover as I was a bit confused with something on the website (I didn't want snowsports cover and near-enough halved my premium) but as I'm going to high altitude I needed a higher level cover which I didn't realise until I spoke to them.

Snowcard ?

Thanks, I did look at discobrakes and superstar after doing some searches but also found some comments about them failing – pad material coming away from the backing on wet rides, but it was also suggested these were a bad batch?

Great prices though!

EBC were commented as being better?

Don't really want to get something that may fail but was hoping to get some more recommendations based on use, might be better to stump up for the avid's but I think £16 for a pair of standard pads is taking the micky! 😯

No one? 😥

‘cling film’ bet if I did that customs/security would want to open it 😆

on a trip last year one person just wrapped their bike up in a big plastic bag, only took the pedals off, and they said it got where it was going fine … but it was a beat up old tourer though.

I’m kinda leaning towards the box in a bag idea – didn’t consider the box being left to the elements if delayed or something, corrugated cardboard isn’t the strongest of stuff when it’s wet!

Isn’t there anyone that does a sort of rigid bag, something with strong sides rather than just foam padding?

Seen hard cases for about £130 so tempted but it’s the extra weight that puts me off, and what to do with it at the other end could be something to consider in the future, I go on a couple of organised trips a year where they carry your kit but it might think it a pain with something that size.

I like the tyre in the shot but not the angle you’ve got it at, I keep trying to lean over as I’m watching it 😆

Mmm, the box I got was a Giant box and seems a bit flimsy, there’s a Specialized Cannondale dealer a bit further away I might try there and see if their boxes are better? I was going to reinforce it with plenty of duct tape, roll up some carboard to put across from side to side to help prevent crushing and thought about getting some long cargo straps too?

Think my limit is 35kg, but I’ll have a large bag to check in too as it’s about a 4 week trip, heard a few nightmare stories about excess baggage charges – $200 was one story I read, and you’ll pay whatever they say really as you want your stuff to get there.

‘Box inside a bag’ – are the padded bags big enough to fit a normal bike box inside?

Brilliant! 😀

Been out and just got back, thanks for that, all sorted out now and so easy when you know how.

Cheers 8)

Commuting has improved my weekend mtbing, I do about 5 x 28 miles during the week but I’ve got some hills, some off-road and usually a strong headwind in one direction and I’m shagged by Saturday so rest that day and usually do a long steady mtb ride on a Sunday, I find it impossible to ride at a steady pace though and it’s always a hard pace as I’m trying to get to work on time and like to keep to about the same times. But I’m leaving people behind on the hills and my breathing is more relaxed, so it’s doing me some good 🙂

Sorry to hijack a little bit but was going to ask this anyway…

I have a brooks saddle about 2 months old, must be getting close to a 1000 miles on it now, will I always be getting black marks from it or is there anything I can do to stop it? decided to wear a different pair of shorts on it the other day, coloured cargo typre shorts with a liner and it’s left black marks all over the @rse of my shorts! 👿

and, it’s still bloomin uncomfortable! Just can’t get the angle right to feel good, either slipping onto the nose or if I angle it so I don’t slip it puts too much pressure on the front! 😕

Bastad thing, I’m getting close to chucking it …

Black Rats !

Do you live in the thames valley area?

No, device doesn’t have ‘battery type’ options in the menu, it’s ok for use with rechargables, but I just wonder (well, I expect it will) if it’ll automatically shut down sooner than using throw aways like energizer, so I’ll have to watch the power indicator a bit more.

sfb – so I’m guessing that the chemicals that are used in the rechargable batteries cannot be changed to something different, otherwise I suppose they would not be rechargable but single use chemicals, so will never be able to be 1.5v ?

I put some knobblies on my MTB commuter the other day just for a change and took it on a 20-odd mile off-road route, flat bars and bar ends, I’d forgotten just how useful those bar ends are when you’ve got a 20 minute grinding climb!

😯

Found something – Scott do a small 330ml bottle with a steel cage, pukka!

😀

😆 ah, thought you might of put one of those opening sports water bottle tops on instead of the normal screw one?

Nothing wrong with a normal bottle, but I use a camelbak so have plenty of water there so was wondering if I could get something small and slimline just for a quick energy shot, don’t want something to take up a lot of space in my frame – sometimes I carry it, oh yes, one of my routes has about 140 steps up a cliff face!

suntingwang – what size are the one’s you mention?

Did look on crc but didn’t notice if anything was smaller, i’ll have another look.

Cheers 🙂

Don’t laugh but Tesco used to sell that sort of thing in the kiddie section

Actually, that might be the sort of thing … as long as it’s not pink with Barbie written all over it?

just fill a 500ml one 2/3rds full?

No, that’s far to common sensicle, I want something made for the job 😉

500ml bottle of flat coke on the bike

That’s the sort of size/shape, but wouldn’t that rattle around in a normal bottle cage and fall out cos they’re made for wide waterbottles?

Actually, seen quite a few 500ml but they seem to be short versions of the bigger bottles, is there something smaller/narrower, 330ml or something? 🙄

Conti Travel Contacts

I was going to get the marathons but wanted something to handle a bit of off-road too so went for these as they have knobs at the sides, cheaper, free innertubes and can put in 80psi too, no problems yet and part of my commute is on flinty coastal paths, rough un-made roads – the sort of pot holed, rubble strewn, brick, clay, gravel, sand, you name it and we’ll fill the holes with it type road. Fast on the road too even if a little heavy. Think Merlin’s best prices at the mo?

Thanks 😀

Gonna see what I’ve got around and do one of those and hope it works

Can’t get my brain in gear to come up with a solution myself, I’ve done a hard ride and had a couple of beers … hic ! 😉

Who luv’s ya baby!

easy one really

Only just looked at this post, brilliant!

I’ve got some old Marzocchi Z1 Bams from 1999 and some 2002 bombers and the coating on the stanchions on these looks much thicker and durable than any fork I’ve got in the past couple of years, no wear on them at all really, new forks seem to have a really light coat on them that looks like it’s worn already, I wonder if manufactuers just aren’t speccing them with a decent durable coating so they do wear out quicker so we have to spend £’s on replacement parts/servicing/new parts? 😕

Mmmm, didn’t know they had different series of liners? I have the Humvee’s but never notived anything written on them, I’ll have a look later. Where can you get these different liners, just quickly checked crc and can’t see them?

Haven’t used cream, but wondering if I should get some? And I’m currently breaking in a Brooks saddle (or it’s breaking me in) which is ok but taking it’s time.

Was in the forest about week an half ago, some of the higher wider tracks can be a bit chalky and slippery if wet, the tracks up and down the steeper bits like the red and purple routes are a bit rooty and slippery still with lots of leaves and loose mud on the ground, and a lot of the lower singletrack stuff is still very muddy in places … but there’s also dry wider graval tracks and some of the singletrack stuff is dry but it’s just finding it, some of the tracks I did would start out dry, then I’d get bogged down in mud and water, then end up dry again … a right mixture at the moment!

Cheers everyone.

Reason for asking is that last year I toured a bit of Cambodia, Vietnam and used short liners and technical material (polyamide I think) shorts over them but did end up with sores after a week or so, but it was very hot/humid conditions. I always try to put on a clean pair of short liners everyday too and take about 4 or 5 pairs and wash when I can.

I’m off to Tibet, Himalyas in a couple of months and want to avoid the same thing happening again? I’ve got myself some Endura shorts with the clicky liners that are fine for rides in the UK, done 5/6 hour rides fine here, but not day after day – done 2 hours day after day on my commute, these are more padded than my other liners and wonder if those will cause more sores/bacteria as they have more material to absorb sweat, so wondered if there was some wonder material somewhere? Although, the Himalayas will not be so hot/humid, and someone said it’s better to have just one pair of shorts on rather than short liners and shorts on top – but I have to admit I’m not keen on just having tight lycra type shorts on, not with my physique! 😆

Can’t go wrong with Deore if you want hydros – had one set on 3 different bikes now dating from 2002 and never had to do anything apart from new pads, no problems.

Although I do like my BB7’s I have on another bike, but as mentioned they do seem pricy for what you get compared to a hydro set that will usually include levers, hose, etc – got mine from Hong Kong a couple of years ago as they were cheaper then.

I got some Conti Travel Contacts after asking a similar question, no punctures yet but they do have protection, which I guess makes them heavy – 670g I read somewhere?

Roll fast – you can put 80psi in these! I have a couple of miles of a gravel/brick/stoney loose surface to do on my commute and a short bit on grass and they are fine, not used in the wet yet though, but most of it is road which is why I wanted something like these.

Good price at merlin last time I looked?

I’ve just measured my Pitch (L), Pikes at full travel, axle to axle is 47.5 inches – compared to my Superlight which is 42.5, which makes a difference of 5 inches!

Centre of saddle/seatpost to bars is: Pitch 27, SL 26.5 inches

Position? Well I’ve tried it nose up a bit and down a bit and back up a bit again. I do have it more nose up than my other saddles but the problem seems to be the pressure it puts on the, what do they call it, is it per… pernium… something like that? Can’t be bothered to look it up at the mo, but y’know the bit where all the other saddles seem to be puttung it extra soft bits or cut outs to relieve the pressure?

Otherwise it’s fine, if I can sit back a bit it’s quite comfortable and hasn’t caused any sores I was getting with other saddles on those long sit-down type rides.

I can see the back of it is starting to break in as you can see a difference in the leather and it’s starting to shape, it’s just the front/nose doesn’t seem to be giving at all?

Buy em second hand 😆 makes sense now!

2500 miles 😯 that’ll take me a while.

I’ve put the proofide all over, might look into horsey soap stuff but don’t think I’ll pee on … not just yet! Suppose I could try to get the nose wet and ride that but these don’t look like they’ll absorb a lot of water?

I’m about 5’11”, ended up getting the large as the medium seemed a little cramped to me. But, yes, it’s got a long wheelbase, about 4″ longer than my old Superlight but the saddle to handlebar distance is the same, the Pitch feels very stable whereas now the Superlight feels a bit ‘skittish’ … all I need now is to ride the pitch on the flats and downhills but change over to the superlight when I have to go up hill! 😉

Used to ride motorbikes a few years ago, put my visor down one day as I was going to speed up to see a wasp on the inside about half inch from my nose! It was enclosed with not much space to fly around in, stopped quickly to sort that one out.

Yesterday going down a hill on the mtb on a busy narrow road I heard a thud on top of my helmet and felt something in there, couldn’t stop for a few hundred yards cos there’s no where to stop without stopping the traffic too and I’m sure I could still feel something there, I worried for those few hundred yards that something was going to sting me! Nothing there by the time I stopped and got me helmet off?

I think it’s up to Rattle and Hum for me, which doing a quick google says it was 1988 😯 … no way! 20 years ago?

to be fair I know he’s a bit preachy at times but at least he’s trying to do some good with the influence he’s got

I agree.

Didn’t catch them on radio 2, I’ve kinda ignored them for a while, was thinking about downloading their new stuff to see what it’s all about?

I remember egerly waiting for Achtung Baby and being a bit disappointed, same when they did the Unforgetable Fire – but I stuck with Unforgetable Fire a bit more and got to like it, maybe I should drag out Achtung Baby and give it a go?

Oh, and no arguing about them being commercial puppets, hypocrits or Bono being able to walk on water? 😉

Third the rind-a-ding-ling-a-ring bell, no one ever hears my flick type bell it’s rubbish and I end up shouting at them anyway, also lets face it, most walkers are old deaf and partially sighted anyway! (even when approaching them from the front I’m nearly putting my front wheel in their face before they notice me, why do they just look at the ground 2 feet in front of them!?)

😉

Something I just got from the states sat in customs for 10 days – despite them telling me on the phone they clear stuff within 48 hours, liars! 👿 – but this was a bit bigger than a couple of dropouts, mobile phone box size, I should’ve thought yours would be in a small padded cell bag anyway? I got charged VAT on mine, but no import.