Oh, and my kids go to nursery in a trailer.

fair play to you there if your prepared to take your kids in trailer on the road? I just cant make the risk worth it. Love using the trailer at weekends etc however :-)

Nobeerinthefridge – Member

futon river crossing – Member

I’d like to ask the OP why he he thinks he’s more entitled to use the road network than other users.?

This. You may not think you’re like this, but it’s very dominant in the OP.

It was most certainly not intended in that way i can assure you, its very easy to read things in such a way though im sure.

yes, yes it does!! it may take some work for the UK to be anywhere close to that!!

Europe most certainly has it sussed, perhaps over time the UK will go in this direction but i cant see it, there is no argument surely that we all want to be safer on bikes in any situation be it commute or pleasure?

They’re poorly signposted and uncomfortably narrow for two way traffic. They run only on one side of the road so if you’re joining going the other way, they’re instantly inconvenient.

The problem as I’d see it is that those roads have a disproportionate number of people driving like pricks, possibly living in Blyth gives them a healthy disrespect for their own mortality?

i don’t find them too bad but again all down to opinion, im happy with my choices and ultimately would rather use them over the road. everyone can do what they want to do, it has no direct effect on me. also yes there are a huge proportion of crap drivers on these roads thus my original question of why people want to ride on them.

..and therein lies the whole root problem… “oh I can’t possibly because”. If you WANT to make it work, you’ll figure out a way. How about just pushing the bike along the pavement if there’s a particularly “dangerous” bit (actually dangerous, or merely dangerous in your mind because your precious offspring is involved?), and ride the rest?

If every other idiot (and I include myself in this) thought hard and realistically about why and when they use their tin boxes and when they use a more appropriate form of transport, the roads would be a damn sight emptier and therefore a damn sight safer.

valid point and i cant disagree and perhaps i may look at it more and take him this way on the odd day.

I also fully agree im sure we all use the car when we don’t need to and huge changes could be made if we all thought in this way. Its a undeniable fact.

Also don’t the govt recommend you being on the road if you’re doing 17-18mph+

this post was never aimed at people capable of riding like this, its aimed at those who bumble about with no clue, i thought that would be clear from how the original post was written but perhaps not, either way its opened a huge can of worms 8O

cynic-al – Member

I n r a t s

But cyclists have a right to be on the road (drivers are there by licence only) and SHOULD NOT be sidelined on to cyclepaths etc.

As ever this is just about allowing drivers to drive dangerously and making it up to cyclists to deal with it rather than making the roads safe.

Indeed you do have the right, that’s not the point of what i posted unless you have decided to read into it that way

garage compressor is the way forward if you cant get it with the pop bottle…..

spent ages trying to get mine on and had to resort to going to the local tyre fitted and using his compressor and job done. I even snapped my track pump in the process

JonEdwards – Member

The first (slightly trollish) comment is if you’re a keen cyclist why ae you not taking Junior to nursery in a child seat or tagalong if you have all these wonderful cyclepaths to use?

Because just perhaps the route to take jnr would involve roads and im not prepared to take that risk with him, if you think i should take a 20mnth old child on the road be it in a bike seat or tag along i think you need to think a little harder.

pjt201 – Member

I think the OP’s position on this could be translated to:

“I’m not anti cyclist, but… “
And
“Some of my best friends are cyclists and I even sometimes cycle too”

Try swapping some of those “cyclists” for descriptions of other segments of the population and then it’s pretty clear what a good attempt at trolling this has been.

I think your have no clue who i am at all, i ride plenty, love my bikes and enjoy getting out, the fact that at the moment i don’t ride to work makes no odds……..This is not a troll post at all no matter how your brain figures.

ahwiles – Member

with the problem that it’s very hard to prove…

indeed, a very similar point to the one made in the article about speed cameras on the home page. If you don’t get caught is it ok??

No flaming required phones in cars is a huge problem for both sexes it would appear……..I’m sure its a huge contributor to road traffic accidents both with cyclists and cars.

scandal42 – Member

No need to wear a helmet, will do jack if you are hit by a car or lorry. It is 1″ of polystyrene.

What about when you lose the front wheel on a bit of ice, or a patch of oil?

Do people genuinely believe that cars and lorries are the only threat to ones head when out on the bike?

I had a mate who most certainly would have been dead or left with serious life changing injuries if it wan’t for his helmet, he wasn’t hit by a car or a lorry.

If one punch can kill a man so can an accidental clash with a curb or post etc etc, I just don’t understand why people wont protect themselves the best they can do against things out of their control.

a very well made point also, I don’t like riding anywhere with no helmet and thus find it hard to believe that others don’t use them, if clipped by a car and you come off hitting your head on the floor could the helmet not save your life? im fairly sure it may play its part

ahwiles – Member

i have no idea, but we’re all capable of confirmation bias.

you say you don’t ride on the road (or very little), so in your valid opinion, the cycle lanes are better. Other people have obviously decided otherwise.

3 miles of my commute is on a traffic free route, it’s bloody great.

indeed traffic free routes are great as are the cycle paths in my local area, i cant speak for the rest of the UK as i don’t know but i can get between a few local towns with no road work at all on either good cycle paths or surfaced national cycle network tracks/trails, love it, when my office moves and tinyhorse jnr transport is no longer an issue i shall be riding my 8 mile commute on national cycle network almost fully, perhaps i just have it good.

@binners i don’t dispute that there is some crap out there, the wiggly one almost looks fun in its own way though

futon river crossing – Member

I’d like to ask the OP why he he thinks he’s more entitled to use the road network than other users.?

never once said that, the question is if there is a safer alternative as i have outlined why not use it?

D0NK – Member

so many reasons why they may be riding on the road rather than the cycle lane/path. Some of them you may agree with some you may disagree with, why don’t you try asking them?*

It may be interesting to find out their reasons, certainly cycle lane planners should be interested, but on the whole I’d prefer we concentrate on making the road network a safer place for vulnerable road users rather than concentrate on getting them off the scary dangerous roads. Even if we had really good cycle infra you’d still have to go on roads occasionally.

*be prepared for the same answer I tend to get from drivers when I ask WTF they just nearly killed me which is “**** off dickhead”

I agree the road network should be made safer and also the fact that people have no option bar the road at times, i have never said the opposite to this.

Unfortunately stopping to ask people just isnt an option in the real world as im sure it would just result im me being called “anti-cyclist” and most likely cause a hazard myself.

ahwiles – Member

timthetinyhorse – Member

Clearly you missed the whole part when i said i used to commute on my bike then??

i read it, but dismissed it as a classic ‘i’m not anti-cyclist, but…’

it’s exactly the kind of thing people say to me, seconds before ranting about a cyclist they claim they saw.

make of it what you will, i still ride a lot but just not to work, i ride very little on the road as im not a fan of it, if you choose to do so thats fine with me however i know in my local area there are most certainly better options………..i dont claim i saw, i know i did, are you now saying i have fabricated this whole thing and that all of what i have said does not happen?

aP – Member

I know of two people who’ve been killed whilst cycling along cycle lanes by motorists.

I dont contest that this happens at all but the vast majority that i have used and will use again once Tinyhorse Jnr starts school are fully segregated……….i must be lucky to have a whole load of national cycle network that i used to use for work and will start to use again when the time comes.

I can only speak from experience and i only know the situation in my local area thus my original post. I used to commute and now drive for reasons i have outlined.

jimjam – Member

Anyone got any troll spray?

Dont think that’s effective on STW members

ahwiles – Member

here’s a clue: you’re in your car, you can’t see the good* cycle lanes, the ones that people are using.

(*as a rule of thumb that seems to work imle, good cycle lanes don’t run directly beside roads)

Clearly you missed the whole part when i said i used to commute on my bike then??

I ride safely and in full remit of the law: how is that sticking it to the man?

OK, I’ll put it a little more simply – if you elect to ride on the road when there is a good* cycle path alternative because you are entitled to, you are a dick – irrespective of how safely and legally you do it. I appreciate that the concept of a good* cycle path is an anathema is some parts of the country but when you have one, use the damned thing and don’t be stubborn just because it’s your right to be on the road!

*good – a smooth, clean, safe surface where good progress can be made and it’s going in the direction you want to travel.

The above hits the nail on the head……I shall employ a simple here to outline the point…… The A1061 Blyth – Cramlington (fatalitys), A193 Blyth – Seaton Sluice (fatalities) and A190 Seaton Sluice – Seaton Deleval all have very good cycle paths and involve 1 road crossing at the maximum (perhaps an extra 2min on your route?) the surfaces are all good (i suppose you could say there is a tiny bit of the A190 that is a tad thin but it is also a fairly blind corner if you are on the road) yet so many people choose the road.

I cant say any more times that i agree some paths are crap but some are good so why not use the good ones?

binners – Member

What Bregante said. Fancy riding through a sea of broken bottles, and general shite, on cycle lanes designed as a token gesture by imbeciles to go from nowhere to nowhere, and see if you can make it in without puncturing or riding into a house brick? Off you go….

As for riding without lights? Darwinism innit? Leave ’em too it

You miss read me, i already acknowledge that not all cycle lanes are good however some are……..i know for a fact that the ones i have used are good and i got to work puncture free for many weeks. This post was not designed to get everyone’s backs up but you all know that there are plenty people putting themselves in danger for no reason.

twistedpencil again i think your missing my point a little or i have not explained properly,

I know there are plenty commuters out there who know what they are doing, use lights and know how to ride and control a bike. I have no issue here and think its great, wish i was still doing it however it is these “leisure” cyclists who ride to work that i think may be the issue and i think this may be the thought process or something along these lines (i accept im about to get flamed here but its just the internet)

Guy/Girl buys £999 road bike on cycle to work scheme)
Girl/Guy uses remaining £1 to purchase pretty poor lights
Girl/Guy is now a pro cyclist and will not use any cycle provision and will use the road at all times no matter how dangerous and as there was no money left chooses not to use a helmet
Guy/Girl then never checks lights, batteries start to die and lights go dim and therefore she/he cant be seen.
This process then just goes round and round.

Of course this is not the case for everyone and i get that, this is not an anti cycling post, this is not an anti cyclist commute post, I am not anti cycling nor am i pro car, i have a car as i need one,

Thanks for all the input also

so what were saying here in general is that the incompetent “i bought a bike on the cycle to work scheme and will ride on this busy road even when there is a much safer place for me to be” is the right thing to do?

Most of the points made in the replies above are covered, i understand the need to sometimes be on the road, I drive as i have to drop my son off at nursery otherwise i would be on the bike but family come first, not all cycle paths are poorly designed (yes i agree there are some crap but also some good much like roads and bus lanes) and to be perfectly honest the vast majority of these people would most likely not even notice if it was poor or not………….

nickjb i didn’t say people don’t die in cars or anything of the sort however flippant your comments may be but you miss the point entirely, as im sure if you read the above properly you will see that it is aimed at all of those who have no idea what they are doing and there are a lot of those people about.

funny that we just had a paper plane flying between desks,

I have past a load of time reading the GIF thread too

I have 160s and 650b wheels, i have 2.4 continentals on mine and they are pretty tight, i always wondered if they were 26″ lowers but never gave it too much thought, makes a whole load of sense now!!!

No issues with coils or anything here but im pretty sure a timing chain issue should be something they should be concerned about…after all if it goes bang its their problem………..they have put it in writing that im ok to use the car

customer service number now noted and will give them a try :-)

They have the correct bearing listed yet but all im going to say is buy cheap buy twice…..try and get FAG & SKF if you possibly can…..

Bearings are my job :-)

very tempting indeed, its our 2nd car and i use it all the time for sitting in traffic on the way to work and taking tinyhorse jnr to nursery etc, bought it at 3yr old and almost had it a year, the specification is rediculous with heated seats and stearing wheel etc but the customer service is very very poor! suppose its the old you get what you pay for argument…….

mine is a 1.2 corsa D, the ticking is only present on tickover or very light engine load, its a failed timing chain tensioner

I have always found BMW to be very good, of course i didnt expect that level of service from them but just thought this was more like what i would expect from a poor backstreet garage (nothing against these either, when i had my A4 and my astra van i used a back street and he was great, corsa only goes to main dealer as the chain is warranty work and i wanted them to check as part of service)

The car is going somewhere else………………still pretty poor for a main dealer don’t you think?

whats pron??

@northwind you dont see this as odd?? how the hell did it go to a totally different address?? not even similar. They couldn’t explain it at all just that mystically it turned up again…….

If your handy and have a good place to work then you should have no issues doing the bearings with a set of pin punches and a hammer (all i used on my e-13 wheels.
As for the bearings i would be going for the SKF, buy cheap buy twice is going to the case here, you will find that the SKF will be made to a higher standard under better conditions that the bargain ones (this tends to be the case but i can comment on the easton ones as i have never used them) How long have the stock easton ones lasted?? If your happy with the duration and performance stick with them, if you think its been poor then go for the SKF.
My e-13 bearings lasted under 6 months in my rear wheel to give a comparison

I would not trust parcel force to deliver anything for me,

My YT made it all the way from Germany into the UK with DHL and then parcelforce took over, i watched it traced until it was delivered and signed for, called the wife at home to make sure it was there, surprise surprise the bike wasn’t there, called parcel force who told me it was there, told them it wasn’t millions of times and demanded they tell me the post code they had sent it too, yup it was a house 70 miles away!! The next magic turn of events was that it suddenly then was “retrieved” and delivered the next day……a little odd i thought.

@andy_k of course you are correct, site techs are site techs but many contract companies move their techs about also……..would just depend who he ended up working for and where i suppose,

can it not be adjusted on the supports to even the gap out over the whole wheel?

@Jambalayal if everyone worried about different industries slowing down no one would ever take new jobs………i was in the aluminium industry for 10 years and was then lost my job due to carbon credits and the EU making it almost impossible for such an energy intensive process to be sustainable in the UK, that coupled with the fact the power station attached could make more more money selling to grid sealed its fate, unfortunately its just the way the world works,
Good thing for people like me/the op who have a trade/engineering skill set means when on door closes another opens, turbine techs have a massive range of skills that are transferable to other work so even if he did land a job in the renewable (wind) industry he could move on again.
Bigjim is right too, there are turbines everywhere and even if they stop building them they still have to be maintained by someone……

The drop in oil price may well have had the effect of making offshore wind look more expensive however the push for green energy world wide is still strong.

Wind technology is constantly evolving and im pretty sure as some sites reach the end of their serviceable life new more efficient turbines will be built in their place

I certainly wouldnt say that most work offshore to be honest and very few actually live on a boat when working offshore as most of the UK farms are in pretty shallow water, Offshore techs tend to sail out each day and visit turbines that require visits and then sail back to shore again.
The guys who are offshore doing major component changes or commissions will be living out there on jacking vessels etc but most techs move about.
There are plenty opportunities and in renewable especial wind thats a certainty and there are plans to build 1000s more turbines.
As far as starting as a technician is concerned you will need some specific wind training, offshore access, turbine access and working at height yada yada but the majority of companies are providing this for their employees.
I think the majority of service technicians travel about the UK rather than being site based as you can find that some sites are weathered off for weeks and you will end up at the other end of the country.
What makes you think that wind will be any more satisfying than doing what you do now? I was a heavy industry maintenance tech for years, moved to automotive and hated that, moved to FMCG and didn’t get on with that. I now work for a major wind turbine manufacturer as a subject matter expert on certain turbine components, finally working mon-fri and finally enjoying my job, somethimes its a full role change you need not just an industry side step.
Where are you based in the UK andypandy85??

Indeed I would measure but I’m sat at work so thought I would ask

iys a mix of on and off road, the off road being hard back bridal way, there is a couple of short steep climbs and one long drag

will try doing a 32-16 setup and give it a go.

totally agree and iv raced a couple of the trail bike TT and endures and they have been spot on, it appears the love for actual DH races up here has dropped out since endure started to take off, its certainly true that the DH races aint getting filled up anymore but why is this?? Is the “endure” scene growing and taking some of the DH people with it?