I wondered this. Take a piece of paper, hold each end and try to twist it. Now roll it into a tube and try to twist it. Is that the answer, flattened section will twist more easily?

Sort of, but this exaggerates the effect because a tube provides signicantly more torsional stiffness than a solid rod with the same sectional area.
A circular section is torsionally stiffer than an ellipse or rectangle with the same sectional area though.
A cx-ray has about half the torsional stiffness of a d-light, partly because it has only 75% of the sectional area and partly because of the different shape.

There is a nice wikipedia article on ‘torsion constant’

It makes a good case for fewer but stronger spokes.

To me those numbers are mostly showing that running 14% fewer spokes is stiffer than running 26% less spoke cross section area. For the most part stiffness is proportional to the total cross sectional area of the butted part of the spokes.
You want to think about the whole wheel though, not just the spokes. 28 heavier gauge spokes you’re going to have a higher target tension that 32 thinner gauge spokes, so how does that marry up with the rims max tension per spoke, does it have eyelets etc. Also a deep section stiffer rim is more suited to lower spoke count than a shallow sectioned one.

I like to equalise the tension per square millimeter of the spoke section between drive and non drive side which usually means d-light on the non drive side and race on the drive side.

They’re loud because their tubes are steel. If they used composites they’d be much quieter. Or slightly more realistically, if you snuck on the site and plugged their tubes with expanding foam that would quieten them down a bit.

Does it exist?

Yes.
As I mentioned previously OVTK have a 2.3-2.6″ sized one
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005771383015.html

Who is making TPU tubes for slightly chunky MTBs besides Tubolito?

–

Schwalbe Aerothan

– RideNow
– OVTK
– CYCLAMI

So no then.

No what?

I think a good compromise is having a culture of the ride leaving on time – but also planning and sharing the route in advance.
I guess this works a bit better for road rides than MTB but some of my best training sessions have been chasing down the group when I’ve missed the start of the ride.

I suggest the best advice is to make sure you pick a dog based on its behavior and characteristics fitting your family needs and lifestyle rather than other things like aesthetics. If going for pedigree I also suggest it is prudent to avoid breeds that have known health problems like hip dysplasia.

So if you’re ideal dog is ~30kg with quite high energy and loves jumping into muddy puddles, sheds a lot and requires regular bathing /grooming etc then Golden Retriver is a good candidate for you. Personally, that is far too much hard work for me so I went for an 8kg mixed breed that does not shed, and is calm in the house – spends most of the day sleeping but also enjoys running around the park.

‘OVTK’ sell one advertised as 2.3/2.6 so ideal sizing for you – although the listed weight is 100g so not ideal if you’re truly gram counting.
There are a whole bunch listed as 1.9-2.5 (some actually list 1.9-2.6) which I guess would fill a 2.6″ as a get you home, but may be a bit of a stretch.

I have to confess it has been a while since actually used my torque wrench so got it out to check my pedals.
They appeared to be in the 30-40Nm range. The commuter bike was 40Nm, the others were pretty low mileage since the pedals were last fitted. Measurements are not terribly accurate – the torque wrench is a unidirectional click type.
I suspect I’m actually torquing the pedals up to about 30Nm typically, and not the 40Nm I previously stated.
In any case – I think all this debate around pedals just reinforces the point that the average consumer is not qualified to check that all the fasteners on a bike are appropriately tightened.

My general thought on the OP is that it is the shop’s responsibility to make sure the bike is put together correctly when they send it out, so they’re pretty much responsible.
The shop’s response is ridiculous because the average consumer is not qualified to check that all the fasteners on a bike are appropriately tightened. If consumers could do this stuff then loads of shops would be out of business from losing their servicing revenue. I wonder if the owner’s manual for the bike reflects their position, or not?
On the other hand the OP has made the situation more complicated by previously rectifying some of the stuff yourself – had they gone back to the physical shop with the loose rear caliper etc then they’d have a much clearer recourse.

This thing about pedals

Mine get copaslipped and done up to finger tight plus a tweak. never had one come loose.

I don’t agree with this advice – most manufacturers advise something in the region of 40Nm tightening torque which equates to a firm push ~20kg on a 20cm spanner or long allen key. In my opinion, there is no downside to doing this to guard against things coming undone in the first few hours of use because it always requires more torque to undo the thing after it has self-tightened.
I remember as a teenager one of my pedals coming loose on my MTB because I had not tightened it properly – the trailing leg when landing jumps / descending etc can cause backing out of threads – also if the bearing slips during pedaling rotation this puts a backing off torque on the thread. Fortunately, the lesson was not particularly expensive as the crank thread was just about salvageable and I snapped one of the crank arms in half a couple of months later anyway.

There are some things the Keter doesn’t clamp as conveniently as a work-mate e.g. the Keter doesn’t have the low profile pegs for routing or planing. But overall I prefer the Keter because it provides a much sturdier base and is very quick and easy to fold/unfold.

So I’ve found that by changing the tube to a TPU one and my multitool to a Ninja this knocks off 140g/40% of the weight.
Somewhat weightweeniest – but it does make it an easier package of stuff to put into a pocket or small frame back without being inconviently bulky.
Now all this stuff fits into a small top tube bag behind my stem. Part of the motivation was deciding I need to carry spares on longer TTs after an unpleasant walk after puncturing on a 50 miler.
Only time will tell whether the tube or tool will actually work for me when I need them :)

Does anybody have experience with the RideNow TPU tubes?  I just recieved a bunch and found the valve stems are plastic, not sure if that could become a failure point on a hot day at 90psi?

I see the need to limit the event to CX bikes but is the execution of the rules any good?

“The width of the tyre cannot be more than 35mm as displayed on the tyre”
This is soft compared to UCI which limits the width to 33mm measured with an actual template. Surely this is open to abuse bodging with rim width and tyres with real measurements that are larger than the label.

Also, I wonder what the definition of flared handlebars is, because most CX riders and even a good portion of road riders run ergo bars with drops a bit wider than the tops?!

Also they state that no road bikes are allowed, but none of the actual cycle design rules preclude a road bike…

I’m not sure why you’d choose to carry pump, multitool, tubes etc in jersey pockets rather than a small seatpack.

For me personally I started out putting things in a seatpack but then found it easier to just pocket stuff when I was juggling multiple bikes and races that don’t allow bike bags. Since then the habit has just stuck – Phone and tools in the middle pocket, nutrition in the left and right-hand pockets.

I also find that seatpacks have the habit of making noises and/or having points where they rub and wear out over time.

I perhaps haven’t gone back to attaching a pump to the bike due to snobbery – I mean it isn’t aero is it… Pocketing the pump limits it to smaller ones, but I am not super bothered about taking an extra few minutes pumping given that punctures don’t happen too often.

Conversely, my MTB has a tube CO2 and tyre lever in a plastic bag that is taped onto the frame, so if I get a non-sealing puncture in the middle of a MTB race I can hopefully get the bike functional again. The MTB tube is too chonky to fit nicely into a jersey pocket.

Thanks for sharing. So a variety of opinions from carrying nothing to carrying quite a lot.

Thinking back I haven’t snapped a chain since migrating to >9spd. I might not have even truly needed tools for my own bike for about 5 years, although I have fiddled with things on a few occasions.

However, I always feel the need to be equipped to deal with minor mechanicals when setting out on a ride – sods law dictates if I stop carrying a chain tool then I’m going to mangle my chain.

So I think I am going to continue what I’m doing but try to reduce the bulk a bit. I’ve bought some TPU tubes – not sure if I’m going to get any new tools – the daysaver stuff looks nice and handy but is just too expensive.

• Park pcs 10 bike stand

Most of the incidents appear to be caused by people who are doing some kind of self promotion such as a selfie or trying to get a sign on TV footage, rather than actually being a fan who is looking at the riders.

Perhaps building an envionment of  low tolerance for non-fan behaviour amongst the fans would be a good start.

It is kind of unique to cycling because it is impracticable to barrier and manage the 1000s of km of route, e.g. compared to a marathon which is only 42km.

I’m not seeing how disabling an optional “feature” should trouble an insurer.

The insurance premium accounts for the safety features on the car, but this is affected if those features are being turned off or misused. It may look silly for one specific case or feature, however when looking at the big picture the progression of automotive safety features are one of the most significant drivers of improved road safety over the years. So it makes sense to manage how drivers may be increasing their risk by disabling or misusing features.

It was recently finalised that all new types of car from July 2022 or existing types sold from July 2024 onwards will be fitted with a raft of safety features including Intelligent Speed Assistance, Advanced Emergency Braking System, and driver monitoring. In parallel with this are rules about data logging units being fitted to all vehicles. I haven’t read this set of UN technical regulations but I believe the intention is for this to allow the option for regulators to link up how these features are being used with insurance coverage and claims – potential to be linked to criminal proceedings too.

I’m managing to make a steady improvement with each TT and the position is getting more tolerable each time as well.
Did my first 25 mile yesterday – I found myself wanting to scootch further back in the saddle to pedal more circularly. Thinking I may have fallen into the trap of pushing the saddle too far forward on the TT bike, so I’m going to have a look at that and see if I can make some better power with the saddle further back.

I’ve been reading around about Voodoo Limba’s recently as I recently picked up an old Voodoo Limba joe murray edition frameset, with carbon seatstays and forks. Everything I’ve seen seems to indicate is they’re great value for money – good to ride, etc.
Very little information out there for the joe murray edition though, so if anybody can tell me anything about it I’d appreciate it.

Pushing the brief a little bit but I only very recently realised this evolutionary line…

Pop Muzik by Robin Scott M, 1979
I Want a New Drug, Huey Lewis, Jan 1984
Ghostbusters by, Ray Parker Jr., June 1984

Did an initial test, outcome is a bit below what I was hoping.

Date ….| kg | Test | Av W | FTP (W) | W/kg
28/4/23 | 93 | 20min | 296 | 281.2 | 3.02

My legs seem to almost instantly feel the burn at anything close to threshold, not sure if that is a lack of adaptation or fatigue from Wednesday’s time trial. Either way, time to do a block of 5-7min intervals and under/overs and try again in a couple of weeks.

P.S. – A while ago I switched from an Xplova NOZA S trainer to a Tacx because the former was getting very hot on longer hard efforts which also seemed to make the reported power drift high as well.

What’s the general consensus here on method of calculating FTP?
Is it better to do 75% of a ramp test value, or 95% of a 20 minute effort, or is it all unreliable compared to an actual 1 hour effort?
Personally, I subscribe to the 20 minute method without ergo, as I think it is more realistically covering both the mental and physical aspects of pacing out a real 1hr effort compared to an ergo’d ramp test, but similarly, I don’t have the time or inclination to do 1hr tests.
Last time I was over 4W/kg was back in 2019 – contemplating whether I can get back up to that level when I am now in my 40’s.

I’m confused: if the OP likes the colour of the plaster, then surely the best advice is to refund the paint and just leave it be!

In terms of painting onto bare plaster, I’d be cautious about using any old cheap paint as the base coat. If you use a chalky matt paint for the mist coat (e.g. Leyland contract matt) then you’ll probably find that adhesion of your nice paint on top is poor. Use paint that is known good for as a primer/mist coat or water down the top coat paint according to the instructions – usually 20-30% water, not 70% water 30% paint.

Following the aborted one due to puncture, I’ve completed two 10-mile TTs now, and starting to get a bit more comfortable in the TT position. Managed to improve my pace each time. The last run I set out a bit too keen on the pace which I think cost me in the middle section of the ride. Starting to think about what TT specific things I should try to do to improve aside from endurance and interval training – any particular techniques to develop turtling and shrugging?

The original dropper post ‘Gravity Dropper’ still sell their Turbo LP seatpost in many different variants – 2,3, or 4″ drop for 27.2mm post. Their prices seem to have gone up quite a bit so perhaps too spendy for this project – but perhaps something to look out for 2nd hand.

Oh and of course, you do not want to be doing long cuts with a multi tool.
A jigsaw should do fine for cutting 1/2″ ply. If the old soffits are not completely falling apart then you could just screw those onto your sheet stock to saw around as a template
Sure a circular saw will do straighter cuts, but is a relatively big bit of kit to keep around, you do need to take quite a bit of care to use it safely, and soffits don’t tend to be things people get to see up close.

Thanks for the info, but still not able to find anything!
I was watching a youtube video about a wind-powered vehicle called Blackbird which can travel over twice the speed of the wind, even when travelling directly into a headwind! This reminded me of the spoke thing and was wondering if it also helps to capture some wind power when cycling, although I suspect it might create too much drag to be of practical use.

Why not get a bare Bosch cordless one and use with your existing batteries?
I’ve got an older Bosch corded tool and it is decent. The only issue I have is the velco on the sanding pad is not very strong, it is also a little chonky to hold compared to some of the other options nowadays.
I suspect that a tool-less attachment change is a good feature to pay for: especially when sanding, you could then have a couple of sanding pads and are more likely to go through the right sandpaper grades.

How does the mood of Singletrack compare to other forums though?
Just realised I’m at least the 3rd person to ask that – hope that doesn’t upset anybody :)

I found the flywheel was reaching a temperature of 99-100C after an ftp type effort. I think that is a bit too much and might end up cooking the electronics so I’ve bodged on a fan which has reduced the temperature to about 60C. In both cases the ambient was 20C it has halved the delta T.

I might be more inclined to try and make the loft space more ventilated and colder by insulating the loft floor which would also help to keep the inhabited part of the house warmer. The reason for this is it’d reduce warm air coming through from the house and mixing with cooler air – which causes condensation.

The challenge with your plan is that warm air is less dense than cool air, and humid air is less dense than dry air – so if you membrane and insulate a space you’ll probably end up trapping in humidity rising up from the house.

But if you do want to execute your plan then bear in mind most PIR sheets have aluminum foil on both sides, if you use aluminium tape on the joints then that will provide a vapour barrier, no need for a separate plastic membrane. You may find multi-foil rolls easier to work with than getting large sheets of PIR into the roofspace.

There are fans systems that have a heat exchanger if you wanted to ventilate a warm space, but then you have ongoing energy costs e.g. Heat recovery fan that fits in wall

A claim on the insurable interest no less so it doesn’t really matter how you see it. The insurance insures the insurable interest. The pothole.interface is a material change in circumstance of the insured should a an incident occur that a claim is issued relating to the insured interest.

Huh! Insurable interest is something that needs to exist for an insurance policy and/or claim to be valid. It isn’t so much that the insurance insures the insurable interest, but rather that the insurance doesn’t insure if there isn’t an insurable interest. But we’re not talking about a claim on the insurable interest, we’re not even talking about a claim on the insurance at all, we’re talking about a claim against the council – so what has insurable interest got to do with the price of fish?

I’d write the council a nice letter/email. If they don’t give that due consideration then I’d consider filing in the small claims court, if the case appears to be strong, or more importantly – if my solicitor with interest wanted to take that on.

Fixmystreet/or asking for records is also a good shout for evidence if the pothole was there for a while or previously communicated to the council.

I’d say the same incident but you blame a third party and make a claim from them pushes it well over the line. You’ve escalated it and made a claim. That is exactly the sort of thing that can and should effect your insurance risk category and premiums.

Yeah but I don’t see it that way because this is not a claim against 3rd party motor insurance, the claim relates to provisions of section 41 of the 1980 Highways Act, it is the same provisions used for a personal slip/trip/fall injury claim caused by an uneven footway.

Like many things in life, it is a compromise – the suspension benefits of larger tyres needs to be factored against hysteretical and weight detractors.

That’s sort of the point I was making. By claiming from the council you are turning it into an accident with an insurance claim. Something you need to tell your insurers about. For £20 costs I wouldn’t be doing that personally.

I see it as more of an incident rather than an accident, and I don’t think it is clear that this kind of incident/accident where there was not a ‘collision’ as such and nobody was injured must be reported to the insurer. Claiming from the council is not necessarily making this an insurance claim, even if the council involves their insurer this would be public liability insurance and not motor vehicle insurance.

As an example – if somebody projectile vomits over the car interior, and you’re asking them for £70 to cover the costs of valeting the car then should that accident be reported to insurance?

Essentially you need to demonstrate two things
1. That you’ve incurred loss, and value of the loss
2. That they’re responsible for the loss.
Whilst they may promote a particular process they have for claims, they’re still subject to civil court claims like everybody else.

The first one seems quite straightforward, considering you’re only claiming £70 and a majority of that is parts (do you also need to claim the recovery fee), and you’ve also got dashcam footage.
The second one is made relatively straightforward because the 1980 highways act places a strong liability on the authority to maintain the highway. In this case, a photograph showing the pothole is deeper than 40mm should be sufficient, alternatively, the dashcam footage might be sufficient. Having evidence that you were driving reasonably/slowly and the vehicle was beforehand in good condition could also help. I’ve not heard about this proof of no insurance claim thing before – perhaps I am out of date, but I don’t see how it is their business to verify this.
The three ways they could avoid a successful claim are to either a) be generally difficult and hope you give up (process etc). b) argue a defence that they did not previously know about the pothole as it had not been previously reported, and had only recently occurred so hasn’t been picked up by routine inspections, or c) that the defect is not serious enough to be of intervention level and therefore lack of repair does not constitute a failure to reasonably maintain the highway.
The way I’d go about this is to write a letter to them something along the lines of.

I am writing to you in relation to a claim for damage incurred to my vehicle.
On [date/time] I was driving my vehicle carefully and slowly on the roundabout at [road names] when I had the misfortune of receiving [description of damage to vehicle] caused by substantial potholes in the carriageway. This damage rendered by vehicle undriveable, and necessitated me to arrange for it to be recovered.
I have [attached photos/evidence] of the potholes that caused the damage, they were over [depth, in millimetres, probably just needs to be over 40 or 50mm] deep.

My vehicle that was damaged was a [make model] registration number [XXX], which is only [Y] years old and was in good roadworth conditions before the incident. I am a vehicle service/repair technician by occupation and in order to minimise costs I repaired the vehicle myself. This limited costs to £50 of parts and 1 hour of my time which I conservatively value at £20/hr, the costs totalling £70. [should include receipts for parts etc, photos of damage etc]
I am therefore seeking to claim this £70 cost of repair from you as the authority responsible for maintaining this area of highway and I would appreciate it if you could reply to me at [contact details] on this matter. I hope you consider this claim as reasonable as I have sought to rectify the damage to my vehicle at minimal cost, and I am only claiming a minimum of the direct costs incurred. I am reluctant to engage legal services to pursue this claim which may increase the costs.

Personally, if it is a significant pot-hole >40mm depth I think they’d be bonkers not to pay up-front to a request like this. Whilst the no-win-no-fee solicitors are less eager to take on the smaller ‘damage only’ claims the authorities do still regularly lose such claims fairly regularly due to pot-holes, overheight speed humps – etc and each loss tends to be at least £1500 including legal fees (or at least this used to be the case, I’m not sure if something changed in the last few years).

GP5000, in either tubeless or tubed forms are pretty much top of their respective classes as the fastest tyres that have good enough mileage/puncture resistance for everyday use (loads of data at https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/). I would however go for something with more tread if you’re planning on encountering lots of wet/slippery or especially some icy conditions. Personally, I consider 28mm plenty big enough for roads unless they’re in a terrible state – but this can also be a personal thing.

Tubeless tyres have lower rolling resistance than tubes ones but we’re talking ~4W difference (compared to quality butyl tubes) for two tyres at 30km/h for a 80kg ish rider. They’re a bit of a PITA to install and you’d need to check that the rims can cope with the projected tyre pressures without tubes (it’s a real thing – the spokes can go slack on wider gravel rims for this kind of setup!).

Latex tubes are faster than butyl ones, but they’re a bit more delicate and you need to reinflate them pretty much every day as air gases are more soluble in latex rubber than butyl rubber.

I’m sure someone will be along soon to bash you with aero stats though.

I suspect that woke aerodynamicists factor in what happens on the trailing edges of stuff.
To actually get decent aero gains would involve using aero clip-ons, then you might be more comfortable with a larger tyre on the front than on the rear.
I believe GP4000S II or GP 4000 RS are more aero than GP5000

Are you a high rpm or low rpm type of rider?

I think average-ish, depending a bit on setup. This effort was probably just below 90RPM (lost cadence data due to ANT+ problems but that is a story for another day).

I ride ‘low’ rpm at the mo, around 70 on average. When riding up the Alpe my gear ratio on the bike was big ring 50T up front and maybe only 25T at the back. In reality riding up the Alpe I would have ridden 34T up front and 30T at the back. Similiar ascent time to when I rode it in real life tho.

I perhaps should’ve said I was riding the ‘riders choice’ training programme which sets the gradient to zero so I was using something like 52/18. :)

Are you using a fan which cools yourself and circulates air past the trainer?

I’m using a vacmaster centrifugal type fan which is quite directional and pointed up at upper-body , probably producing little airflow over the trainer.

Just to share the details – was 299W average over the ~55minute climb (well under 4W/kg I’m largish) but started conservative and was logging about 350W for the last few minutes (potentially over-reported).