Wait but can a UK shop order from the US distributor?

Wow, thanks guys. It sounds fantastic! I’ll give the sugoi a look but I actually love that the Proviz looks relatively normal during the day (:

And Bez, regarding visiblity I was wearing dark grey baselayers at night on an incredibly busy but dark roundabout, I wouldn’t have been able to see me either. The thing that caused me to get hit was my light cut out just when I was on the roundabout, and by the time I realised it was too late and the car didn’t see me. I went to A&E and they said I’ve most likely broken a rib too :S I’ve contacted B&M the lights manufacturer, hopefully they’ll help resolve it. Was scary as hell though, still in shock. The worst bit of it all was how upset the lady who hit me was, she was in tears ):

Wait so is there anyway we can actually order one of these? I’ve wanted a Pugsley for a long, long time.

Receptionist stepped in when thieves were taking joe nallys bikes off his car….. The threatening of violence while brandishing weapons meant the receptionist quickly retreated!

Thatll be why no one intervenes.
Oh no..:( why do these people have to ruin everything :(

Haha here you go

Have you got one yet? :D

Thanks for the advice everyone! I may have to consider getting a cheaper bike :( The gym I’m going to isn’t on the street, it’s a posh(ish) gym (about £130 a month) but due not being an adult yet(yay!) I get a severely discounted rate, less than half! I was going to lock both wheels up then put a bike cover over the whole thing so it doesn’t get rusted when it rains either. I’m thinking it should be fine, but I may have to consider getting a cheaper bike ):

Leaving nice kit in the same place on a regular basis is not clever, you may get away wit it once or twice- we have all done it. But once it gets a routine your playing with fire imo.

The club say they have never had a bike stolen, and the bikes are about 20m away from reception too, but you’re making me uneasy now just by saying this. I’m thinking it doesn’t look flashy anyway and it will be under a cover too? The hilarious thing is my dynamo back light has a standlight you can’t turn off that stays on for about twenty minutes :SSS

Thousands of pounds of bike and a £25 lock. Hmm.

Well. Two £25 lock and one thousand pounds of bike. But I definitely see where you’re coming from. It looks like a very decent lock though, I have the pitbull one which is really burly.

some point someone will spend a couple of minutes to take it and no one will bat an eyelid.

I find this so ducking weird. It’s like the bystander effect. I really don’t get it.

Agree with all that run to the gym or get an old road bike with no STI Lever and use that to get to the gym- weighs very little and you can still run nice wheels and tyres on them

Running just isn’t an option, it’s right by my school which I ride to everyday so it’s incredibly convenient and the main reason I’m going! What do you mean no STI Lever?

Thanks for the replies!! And sorry for my late one! A motorbike cover is a fantastic idea, will get one of those! And size is an issue :( I guess I could just strap it to one of the racks on my bike if worst comes down to worst!

And the ECR….Well I use it as a commuter since it’s the closest thing to a commuting bike I have, but I think there’s something wrong with it. I actually find it slower and more work to ride than my Moonlander on 4.7″ BFLs. It’s really weird. And the brakes aren’t rubbing or anything. I’m really not sure what it is. Would too much rotational weight cause this? I’m using slightly heavier double wall rims (Kris Holm Freeride) that are about 850g…

I know everyone says that its fine, but I still just prefer a normal wheel. I think it’s a psychological thing. I have a Moonlander too LOL. And there’s the fact that you can run normal rims on a symmetrical build too. And that you don’t have to deflate the tyres everytime you want to take the wheel out, have to do this on my Moonlander, usually just end up removing the brakes everytime to save a half hour of deflating and pumping them back up, not too sure if I should be constantly removing them though..

I’m liking the look of the Surly Wednesday bar the slightly long tt. That’s the only reason I’d choose the Pugs over it, but I just don’t want offset grr.

The supernova triple has 640 lumens where the revo has 800. I’m getting another dynamo light eventually, I have a B&M Luxos U but I want something more offroad centric, it’s 90 lux, not too sure how many lumens that is.

Thanks for the advice, I got offered £700 from my LBS but that sounds like way too little for so much bike. To be honest for that much I’d rather just keep it for the occasional dh day. How much do you guys reckon in terms of an actual number? Might just try putting it up on here?

Wow I did not expect 27 replies! Sorry for my late reply, I was so tired last night I practically passed out in my bed! I like to reply to everyone, but there’s too many and people tend to just ignore me when I write so much lol, so I won’t. But thanks all, for your encouraging and helpful advice! (:

I can totally exhaust myself in a couple of miles if I go to fast just keep at it things will get better :D.

Thing is the bike has so much resistance that I have to be at least 60% the entire time. So I tend to get exhausted pretty quick! The replies on here have made me think it’s my bike, I’m selling my fatbike and even maybe my downhill bike now, to get a bike that I can actually ride. And thanks, I will!

I pretty much buried myself on Sunday doing a 45 mile ride, but it was a bit of an experiment I took one tiny bit of flapjack and one mini soreen loaf to fuel me on a lunchtime ride after a busy morning, just trying to see how I got on once fatigue set in. Normally up to about two hours I am pretty much fine, beyond that I need food to keep me going…

So how well fueled were you?

It also depends on what those 40 miles included, all solo? Into headwinds, lots of climbing?

Distance alone is pretty meaningless as a measure…
Oh my god I think you have a really, really good point. I did the London2Southend ride, and after 20 miles/2hours I was absolutely knackered, didn’t think I could go on, but my mum packed me some flapjacks which I found, and one bite changed everything. It perked me up almost instanenously! I barely ate to be honest, and I’m very underweight too, no fat to burn! What kind food do you take on your rides? (:

And thankfully not too many headwinds, nor climbing, was from around watford to kingston upon thames, which is incredibly beautiful, never been by the thames at all really! And I read this one thing Lael Wilcox said about headwinds, that she enjoys them in some way. So I’ve tried to do that. No point dreading it! She’s pretty much my inspiration! What do you mean by solo?

What tyres?

Knards.

Completely the wrong bike.

40 miles on my summer road bike. Don’t even notice.

40 miles on the mtb on road? Knackered beyond belief.

People in your LBS will be talking about using the right tool for the job.
Wow that’s quite a contrast. I love the idea though of having a bike that you can ride all the way to say lands end and then go off exploring the cliffs and beaches there on. Just literally a go anywhere bike. That was the whole point of the ECR for me. I’m thinking a 29er with lockout suspension might be much better…

All about building fitness. IT comes with time. I don’t run and I wouldn’t expect to be able to run a marathon tomorrow without some serious suffering.

You are right. I think that’s my problem really. I don’t really ride that kind of distances at all. Heck I hadn’t been on my bike for a week and I was wearing flip flops and shorts too. That’s my humblebrag! :D

Why did you ride a Surly ECR on the road for 40 miles? Seems like an unusual choice to use what’s a bikepacking offroader. Singlespeed or geared?

Its the easiest bike I have to ride! I’ve the ECR, a Moonlander, a Mukluk and a Cove STD, and the ECR is the best by far for on the road. It’s supposed to be a dirt touring bike so I figured it wouldn’t be too bad on the road. It’s not, just a ton of what I think is unnecessary effort. But I built it up and plan to use it for bikepacking!

Crap I’m making this really long but I just want to reply to what to everyone’s said, sorry!

Did you have enough to eat? I find if I’m properly fuelled I can do 100 mile rides and be feeling okay during/after but if I don’t keep on top of it I just end up bonking, with results similar to what you describe, even on far shorter rides.

I think you and Cookea have nailed it here, this is probably the main problem. What do you eat before/on rides?

The mileage isn’t the main thing. How hard you were riding is. If you don’t know about it, learn about heart rate, get a monitor, know where you need to be to do a longer ride. Also learn about fueling. A couple of jelly babies every 30 mins does wonders!

The thing with the ECR is I have to ride quite hard to get anywhere. Considering getting something else instead maybe, thanks for the advice! Jelly babies sound delcious, I haven’t had them in about 5 years but you’ve given me a sudden craving!!

Riding distance is about pacing yourself, eating and drinking correctly and managing to keep going mentally. If you go off at the same pace you do 5 mile across town you will probably burn out. It a bit like when you first start drinking, you start off downing loads then throwing up, slowly you learn how to pace yourself! Or it like sex, you start off throwing up… Just realised when I had such a bad success rate with women when I was younger.

Those are some good analogies, they make it very easy to understand! :D I do do the same pace! I will experiment with varying it, thanks!

40 miles on road on a Surly ECR,don’t tell me they had fat tyres too? Were you lost or did you fall for some guff about fat bikes being great for everything??

I may have fallen for said guff…

You weren’t in Leeds were you, I passed a guy riding a surly fat bike in stourton yesterday, thought it was a strange bike to be road commuting on!!

He was fair going for it though!!

No, I’m in London! Haha I tend to get too excited riding it and do exactly that! I always challenge myself to keep up with the cars which as you can guess does not fare well for my stamina!

Is this a humblebrag thread?

“I did 40 road miles on a fatbike and I’m just sooo knackered now”

Noooo… An ECR isn’t a fatbike! :D

ECR isn’t a fatbike.

Anyhow it’s well within the bounds to do a road century on a fatbike. I’m pretty sure there’s a few on here who have done it, and I’ve done 80+ miles on my fatbike and have no doubts about doing 100+ if the occasion called for it.

Anyone who rides reasonably regularly can do a century, just take an easy pace, it’s not a race.

It’s simple.

Start fueled up and adequately hydrated. Take an easy pace, it’s not a race (repeat n+1 times).

Give yourself a short rest every hour to eat and drink, it’s not a race.

Repeat enough times and you’ve done the century.

At worst you’ll average 10miles in the hour, so allow 11 hours and you can even have a lunch hour.
You make it sound so easy! The toll it takes on ones legs is very tough though, I found my legs shaking after the 40! The thing with the fatbikes is you have to work quite hard to get them at a decent speed, or at least in my experience with the 3″ Kanrds. On an easier rolling bike, like I think my Moonlander with 3.5″ Vee Speedsters is kind of easier to ride, I’m guessing because the wheels are not monstrously big, so that could be doable I guess. The mental factor of going on for that long is quite big too! I am going to persevere with it though, thanks for the advice! And I’m afraid as much as I do love fatbikes, I agree with mike, there becomes a point when you just don’t want to slog across the road. I think I need to sell one of my fatbikes and try something else!

Thanks for the advice all, really need to think about food now! (:

Thanks, got it now! Curious site…..Yeah not too sure if they are worth buying, I picked up two sets of those 2led ones that run on cr2032 batteries for £2.99, they seem very visible but according to my LBS they are not good enough?!

When you say gearbox where do you mean? I’m trying to find a uk place to buy them from? :)

Oh no! I guess I’d better try and get down to the Kenton one again tommorow! Thanks for the heads up. I’ll check out Decathalon too, never even looked at Decathlon!

Right. I’ve never been to an Aldi ever before but figured I would go as I needed some gloves and lights. There isn’t one near me so I had to go quite far, to the Kenton one which is a more run down/poorer kind of are, the cycling stuff was almost untouched. They had so much stuff I was so excited! I got two of everything! And then the lights all go off. Everyone weirdly enough continues shopping like nothing has happened. I figure this must be regular for this area and all will be okay in 2 minutes or so. I continue filling up my trolley with shopping tat, get to the tils til I see that nobody is able to pay for anything and they are begging everyone to leave. I was so close. So close. I was so excited about getting those £25 moon lights for £8, I bought 3! So we were forced out, and I figured its okay, we’ll just go to the west drayton one tommorow. Turns out Binners was absolutely spot on. There was almost nothing left. 2 cycling tights in a size small left and the £2.99 lights :( I got one of each, figured we’d go try the Kenton one again. Go all the way there. Big crowd of people outside and note on the door. So annoyed :( anyone know how often they have the cycling stuff? Or how long it’s on for? Is it worth going 20 miles out to get the stuff? I just wanted the lights!!!

the brands are such a mess, they really should just stick with the original two, the 27.5+ thing looks interesting…

What am I missing here, £90 for a rear hub doesn’t exactly sound cheap?

:(

Not sure, but paypal said they found no evidence of tampering on his account and ruled it in my favour! Very happy :)

I’m just so excited I couldn’t contain myself! Looks amazing, never seen anything like it before. Problem is I don’t tend to get good responses when I show my excitement LOL.

Man they really should add some more info in their description. If they did they’d probably sell so much more stuff.

Oh my god that looks so awesome. IT LOOKS SO AMAZING oh my god. I want to do it!OH MY GOD THEY HAVE ART OF BIKEPACKING LESSON THING. LOOKS LIKE SO MUCH FUN. I really want to go but everything is sold out. And I’m doing London to Brighton on the 26th (fingers crossed) but you’re very lucky to get to go there! Can you book tickets in advance? For like next year or the next event? I want to go there and do everything!! Also, endurance bikepacking sounds awesome, who is that with? Doesn’t seem to be on the school of adventure bit?

@Tuskaloosa they seem to still have tickets availible for the event on the website, but most of the courses are sold out. Some really good looking ones are still left though (:

edit: found it, is the training one? Looks like so much fun, hope you have an awesome time!

Well once I had a buyer claim he didn’t order something, and so he opened a case, problem was I already sent the item. I sent it signed for however, and he signed for it, and I could view the signature online. I sent paypal a link, that he accepted it, and case was closed in my favour. This was only for £90 though, he may be able to claim someone else signed for it like others said so wouldn’t take the risk with anything of high value.

I think the only course you’ve got is to speak with Paypal, explain to them that the Ebay account and Paypal account match up, at which point in the process the buyer contacted you, that you have sent the goods to the address of the buyer and followed all their guidelines as a seller and still you’ve been shafted as you’re out of pocket and goods. Detail all the communications and deal with facts, not opinions.

I did exactly that, I just wanted to let you guys know that paypal reached their verdict this morning, and I won the case! Very happy, was really stressing about it! I’ve learnt my lesson too. Thanks to all for your support and advice!!! Really helped me out (:

No one? I find that hard to believe xD

got fed up of waiting and bought from somewhere else.

I never actually thought of this!!

Just a lot Captainsasquatch for the support, I actually really appreciate it, this was stressing me out big time. The buyer opened a case on paypal and I just told them everything, said how he only contacted me after I sent them, how surely he must have seen somewhere if it was accidental and cancelled it before??? I told them I suspected him of scamming, didn’t think about the likelyhood of both accounts being hacked at the same time, good point!! I agree actually, I had a similair thing with an xbox I sold and the buyer claimed he didn’t intend to buy it, after I’ve sent it. Turns out he signed for it, I sent a pic of the signature to paypal and money was mine (:

That may be your downfall, but maybe by then they’ll consider the buyer to be untrustworthy ?

hopefully, it’d be almost impossible not to notice you’ve bought something, he’s obviously lying!

edit: no I dont its been taken from my account as have the beautiful trainers :(

They match up. I think it’s my fault for sending it 2nd class. I haven’t sold anything lately, and everything I have has gone so well, and £2.80 for a big box was too cheap to say no to. I should’ve sent it tracked. :(

Yup, recieved paypal confirmation on my email and on ebay?

You know what really suprises me is that it’s been about 3 years since the exposure revo mk1 came out and there hasn’t been a single nother offroad dynamo light, not even a mk2 revo?!

Getting much better at racking miles up, can do 20 miles easy on my Moonlander, I can climb pretty well now but I always chicken out on the downhills! I know 20 miles isn’t much to most. Done a 40 mile ride a few weeks ago, doing an 80 in a few weeks. I’m trying to get to the point where I can go anywhere, as far as I want, where my body is not the limit. Be pretty cool. And so much power to have.

@Motorman, that setup looks really awesome, just wondering, where is that?! It looks amazing. And Moonlander or Pugs? (:

I was just looking at them! Found these:

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/humpert-moon-handlebars-318mm-clamp-prod34016/

They’re £11.99 in 31.8 and a shocking £5.99 in 25.4 8O

And these Thorn Risers look decent too:

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/thorn-mk2-comfort-handlebars-254mm-clamp-satin-black-prod12228/

The width of both does seem a tad short at 620mm however, but I think I’m just going to buy them and see what they’re like (:

@epicyclo Is the difference between 27tpi and 120tpi really that much? I thought they were just lighter. Genuinely curious, I’ve got a couple of both (:

Wow, that looks beautiful, to camp right by the beach like that…

Fit is the most important thing. After that, probably venting. Try not to be swayed by what your heroes are using (though we all do it to an extent!)

I am very swayed by what she’s wearing! Thanks for the actual advice (: Will try and get the fit nailed.

Officerfriendly, I’m going to suggest something pretty radical here, and while it may seem a bit “out there” I’m certain it’s going to solve a lot of your problems.

You might want to sit down for this. Comfortable? Good. Are you ready..?

GO TO A BLOODY BIKE SHOP!!!

Not sure what helmet you want? Go to a shop, try helmets til you find one you like and that fits you, then buy it.
Unsure about which frame size to buy? Go to a shop, try bikes til you find one you like and that fits you, then buy it.
I could go on giving other examples, but I’m sure you get the picture.

Honestly dude, half of your problems seem to stem from asking for advice, then completely ignoring all of it.
I’d feel bad about suggesting this, as if it was anyone else they would perhaps stop posting such hilarious threads. However as it’s you, you’ll probably ignore my (and everyone else’s) advice, go on to buy something completely unsuitable, then post a follow up thread with a picture of a cushion strapped into a colander, asking why your new helmet doesn’t fit well, and is a bit sweaty…

That’s a good idea, I should probably do that. My LBS only stocks Specialized, I was looking at Bell and IXS. I was only curious if anyone had any other suggestions. Why do you think I ignore the advice? I’ve taken on board a heck of a lot of it. I haven’t had time to update the previous thread yet, been very busy. I bought a set of normal 29er sweep bars, put on an old 70mm stem I had to change the riding position to how it should be, I’m trying riding in the crouching position that the bike is supposed to be ridden in. I’ve gone to my LBS, talked to the guy who does the fittings there, had him have a look at how the bike fits me and adjusted it accordingly. I’m sorry but I think you’re wrong. I have taken on board a lot of the advice. And it honestly has been very helpful.

You need a bikepacking specific one. To help us guide you to the right one, what wheel size are you using?

Do I detect a hint of sarcasm? ;) I don’t have one at all right now, just wanted to see if anyone had any reccomendations (:

Both of those examples are quite Enduro. I’d simply buy any well-ventilated, good-fitting helmet with a visor. I tend to look for what’s in various sales but I’m quite lucky as I get on with Giro, MET and Specialized helmets so have lots of choice.

Thanks for the good advice, might be worth trying one on rather than just buying online. The reason I really like the IXS Trail is that it’s the same one Lael Wilcox had on her 2,700mile Tour Divide race!!

Giro and met both do a backpacking specific helmet with tie points for a 5 l drybag from alpkit.

Can’t seem to find them, do you know which models they are?

This one. Camo FTW.

Does look pretty darn cool.

Giro feature are half price at Tredz.

Looks quite good actually, only more confused now!!

Oh god what have they done. I, being 5’5″ would’ve actually considered buying the 650+ as a smaller plus sized option to 29+ but the ally fork and lack of rear rack mounts just make this completely unsuitable for it’s actual purpose! I thought it was supposed to be freaking adventure bike.

Wow, some super, super helpful advice here. this has actually changed everything for me. I’m very grateful (:

@Jameso
Thanks for the advice! I’ll keep it in mind. I’m going to go and try a few different bikes and try persevering with the “standard” position in the hope that it solve most of the issues.

If you sit bolt upright and don’t lean on the front then the front will have no grip, you need to balance your weight between the two or you won’t have control. Like most things you don’t do all the time it probably feels strange and you probably need to work at it. If it feels strained then you probably haven’t used your body like that before.

I think you’ve got it spot on there. I haven’t ever really ridden like that before. The weird thing is, it’s almost natural for me. Like my ECR is setup normally, but when I ride it (mainly commuting) I almost naturally sit back, with one hand just reaching the bars. Like you said though, probably requires some perseverance. I will definetely do that. I’ve been doing some research (reading about Lael Wilcox’s utterly amazing journey of the 5,000 miles from Alaska to Mexico) and that’s kind of what I really want to do. I want to see the world like that and explore it. I’m just going to try and get a normal bike, try again with a 29er, but a light one, rather than a heavy steel one. I really really hope I can get used to it and ride bikes as they were meant to be. I just want to ride now. I don’t care about fatbikes or crazy shit anymore. I think I’m kind of growing up lol.

You should look something like this when the bike fits properly

Thanks for the image, that’s put things in perspective really well. They way I ride is kind of an L shape where as that is an A shape as Ben was talking about. I really really hope I can get my riding position more normal so I can ride bikes more properly, more comfortably and most of all, further!

Sitting dead upright on an Mtb could be really bad for your back, as all the jolts shocks will be going vertically up your spine, which is bad, and one of the reasons why cyclists lean forward. Leaning forward allows your back to flex as it hits rough terrain.
Seriously, try a Jones H bar, with say, a 70mm stem.It might be worth getting a test ride on a Jones Spaceframe, combined with an H bar, the weight distribution can be very light on the hands, but you will be leaning forwards in a normal riding poisition though.
My guess is, if you persist in wanting a totally upright position, you’ll continue having problems finding the right bike.

Is that upright position a normal thing for commuting and riding around town? I see it on a lot of town bikes in halfords and stuff lol.
That’s a really really good point. It could definetely be worse for my back in the long run. I’ve always struggled to see how people ride with drop bars and stuff without hurting their back, but I think I just haven’t tried it. I’m going to go out and try as many bikes as I can to figure this out. I haven’t tried many bikes at all.

The thing is though, the Jones Spaceframe and Spacebar are very expensive. I just don’t want to start spending so much money again. I’m kinda confused with what you’re saying about the Jones bars, if they sweep back a lot wouldn’t the bars be in a similair position as in much closer to the bars?

And yup I think you’re right, going to try and give the normal riding position a fair shot (:

howabout taking a daytrip and go an do some test rides at somewhere like Charlie the Bikemongers or Sideways?

Not a bad idea, I know they both specialize in fatbikes. I kind of just want to go faster and further, so I’m looking at getting a normal bike lol. There’s this bike shop not too far from me, that I’ve never tried but it looks utterly fantastic (http://www.cycleopediawatford.co.uk) I’m going to go check it out on the weekend! Any advice for asking for help? I feel bad about wasting their time if I’m not going to buy a bike so I’ll probably end up buying one from them if they actually help me find one that works!!

try persevering with a “normal” riding position. Changes take time to get used to (see the many threads on here about MTBers trying to get comfortable on road bikes) but it will solve many of your problems. Stretching may help but it’s mainly just getting used to it. Your weight should be split between saddle and bars, not all going through your sit bones. I agree with suggestions above that a basic bike fit should get you close enough to the right position.

You’ve all convinced me to do so!! I’m definetely going to persevere with it! Thanks for the advice and hopefully it will work out and and solve most of the problems (:

Have you ever looked at other people riding bikes? Other than those “Amsterdam-style” shoppers, leaning forward is the usual riding position. Of course, it may be that it’s not for you (could be a comfort thing, could be a physiological thing), but you’re not going to get a normal bike to fit you. I don’t know if Electra “cruisers” are still available but it looks like that might be more up your street.

huh. I haven’t actually, I mainly just see drop bar roadies and construction workers on their BSOs lol. It’s really weird how it is. I can’t imagine how it would be comfortable and not straining. My guy at my LBS said that I need higher bars, like cruiser bars if I want to sit like that. (:

but you’re not going to get a normal bike to fit you

This is really frustrating ):