The biking thread

I managed to get the satellite dish up yesterday in time to record but not watched it yet, doubt I'll watch today's race live either as it's flat pack hell for my ATM in the new house. The course is in Essex so a bit of a trek for me but I'd be surprised if I could do it in 30 minutes!

Bigbazz - replace the brake pads, they're probably contaminated and sanding/cleaning won't help. Check out these links, I think you need G1 from Superstars
http://www.uberbikecomponents.com/category/333/View-all-Giant-Disc-Brake-Pads-here
http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/index.php?cPath=21

Also brake fluid absorbs water and degrades over time so you should replace it every 2 years. I can't see why new pads and bleeding them wouldn't have them like new

Also also you can get a frame bag for te frot triangle and a bar mounted rack and bag.
 
Bigbazz
Annoyingly it appears we will have to stick to only rear mounted pannier racks with our bikes as it will be difficult (if not impossible) to fit any to our suspension forks.
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You can probably get away without a front rack while cycling through civilisation as you'll need less food and water.

But as Neal said there are handlebar bags you can get as well as smaller frame bags if needs be. I would recommend a heavy duty rear rack, and not one bolted to the seat post.
 
I finally have a timeframe for when I can get a bike, and I've bought a nice new backpack already though fairly cheap it's a Karrimor so it should suit nicely and I needed one for my motorbike as well. I still need to get everything else, but I've also come across another bike I'm looking at where I was fairly set on the 2012 Carrera Vulcan before I'm not looking at a Felt Q620 '12 as well which might be a bit more unique if nothing else.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_810709_langId_-1_categoryId_165499
v
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/felt-q620-2012/ (Technically I don't know if it'll still be on discount come purchase time, which will change things.)

By registering for a British Cycling membership I'll get a discount of 12% on the Felt and 10% on the Vulcan so we're talking £376 and £342 respectively and I'm setting a price ceiling of £400 for the bike itself. I'm not entirely sure how the discount will work on Wiggle (already discounted products? It also says on BC website "The British Cycling members discount is automatically applied on the shop" can someone shed some light on this to save me signing up to then not buy anything?). I'll also be using gift vouchers for both, I know Wiggle only allows one promotional voucher but multiple gift vouchers should be fine right? Anyone with experience with the website just let me know what you know as I've never heard of them until yesterday :lol:.

Back to the bikes, ultimately I want the best of the 2 (or others similarly priced, suggest at your will) but if they're very similar and the 12% BC discount is going to be awkward on Wiggle I'll almost certainly get the Carrera from Halfords. There doesn't really seem to be a massive difference in specs to me, but one of you will likely know something.
 
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^ I'd phone Wiggle, Halfords and British Cycling to ask about how the discount works before you pay for the membership, I've not previously heard about it myself so wouldn't want to guess.

The Carrera Vulcan and Felt Q620 are fairly similar but the Felt is better as it has a 9 speed cassette rather than 8 speed which is more modern and easier to find replacement drivetrain parts (I have 8 speed so know it can be an issue) and the Felt has Shimano brakes which are pretty much the best at a given price point. Another option is the Carrera Kraken which would be on budget with the 10% discount and has better forks and drivetrain than the Vulcan so is more on a par with the Felt.

Hope this helps and isn't too late.
 
Today's ride:

Trip dist.: 57.09 km
Trip time: 1:56:38
Avg. speed: 29.37 km/h
Max. speed: 59.64 km/h

Also did weightlifting earlier today before I took off with my bike. Focusing on medium weights for upper-body and heavy sets when doing deadlifts. Unless I forget it, I'm going to try and record my body weight every morning, as well as the weights used when lifting and see the progress through graphs. Certainly not looking for a bulk, but getting strength and working towards stamina in those muscles. I think everyone tends to underestimate the contribution of the upper body in cycling, it certainly is an important aspect when sprinting, climbing or riding in a time-trial position.

I probably have about 1000 km in total so far this year, but I'm resetting the year and going by the distance so far traveled after aquiring my new speedometer.

Total distance: 168km (3 rides)
Total time: 5:54
 
Neal
^ I'd phone Wiggle, Halfords and British Cycling to ask about how the discount works before you pay for the membership, I've not previously heard about it myself so wouldn't want to guess.

The Carrera Vulcan and Felt Q620 are fairly similar but the Felt is better as it has a 9 speed cassette rather than 8 speed which is more modern and easier to find replacement drivetrain parts (I have 8 speed so know it can be an issue) and the Felt has Shimano brakes which are pretty much the best at a given price point. Another option is the Carrera Kraken which would be on budget with the 10% discount and has better forks and drivetrain than the Vulcan so is more on a par with the Felt.

Hope this helps and isn't too late.
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I emailed Wiggle about the bike, I would be paying the price it's currently being advertised for (no extra discount :(). I'll not be buying until the 6th September I imagine, so there's a good chance the sale will be over and I can forget the Felt completely (it seems like a bit of a steal at £430, so it's worth splashing out a bit but I may go straight back to the Vulcan in the end though the Kraken looks like a good option too). What other websites are worth looking at? Specifically ones people can buy vouchers for to spam me with come birthday time.
 
Don't buy from Halfords until the August bank holiday, that would be when they nearly always have discounts.

[EDIT] Then I remember you said 6 th September. Couldn't push it forward a couple more weeks?
 
ExigeEvan
Don't buy from Halfords until the August bank holiday, that would be when they nearly always have discounts.

[EDIT] Then I remember you said 6 th September. Couldn't push it forward a couple more weeks?
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I don't get paid until the end of the month, I won't get my vouchers until my birthday (but on that logic I'll be saving a TONNE come that day so I'm not overly worried, if I fall short on cash the Vulcan is plenty attainable anyway come payday). I'll also go in store to see how many freebies I can get chucked in :lol:.
 
Popped down to Tredz Cardiff again today with my riding buddy to finally pick up his bike, he ended up with a 2012 Cube LTD

ltd-red.jpg


Just like the one above. Went for a ride down the ogmore vale along the coast and around some hilly areas, first proper ride in over 5 years and the start of our training. We didn't start until late but I'd say we only covered around 7 miles (a lot of it rough terrain, grass and hilly sections), still though it was harsh on my body. My left knee revealed an old injury had reappeared that had me using my right leg more than my left to pedal and my general fitness has gone down massively since last year, it was a short ride but I felt completely pooped out at the end of it, oh dear!

A long way to go, try to work through this knee issue, and in getting the general fitness up, need to be able to do 77miles a day with 20kg (ish) of carrying weight... a long way to go, but a few months to get there, going on a 20mile ride on friday, hopefully 2 days rest will give my knee time to recover.
 
Dragonistic - the Vulcan and Kraken are both good bikes and should make buying simple with vouchers and local Halfords rather than mail order, as Evan says they will have a sale soon which may run until 6th Sep but if not just try to get a free lid off them or something.

Paul's Cycles have bargains in the offers section but I've looked through them in your price range and couldn't see anything that bettered what has already been suggested. I'll list a load of shops I use although not sure which do vouchers but it's a good place to start.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Default.aspx
http://www.evanscycles.com/
http://www.merlincycles.com/
http://www.tredz.co.uk/
http://www.tweekscycles.com/
http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/
http://www.on-one.co.uk/
http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/
http://www.uberbikecomponents.com/index.aspx
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/cycle/

Bigbazz - My mate has got the Cube 29er LTD Pro, very very nice bike so your mate should be happy with his.

It wouldn't have crossed my mind about the rear pannier fouling the disc brake calliper but it seems you can buy disc brake compatible racks so it should be doable.
 
On the disc brake rack thing, they had them at the shop, including a couple of bikes with disc brakes and rear panniers already fitted, we went through that stuff last time we were at the shop, so It was never a worry that it wouldn't be able to work, it was the front that we were restricted on.
 
Thanks alot Neal, I've had a good browse through most of them and come to some conclusions pretty quickly. Firstly it doesn't look like I'll out-spec the Carrera bikes for the price, as you'd expect really, so in most cases I'm just paying for a brand if I buy something else at the same price but there's a couple of competitive looking bikes out there but each will come with a compromise of some sort (often brakes). I'm quickly realising the British Cycling discount for Wiggle is a false economy (they won't discount discounted items, so any item with even a tiny amount off won't be reduced again).

The Q620 at that price is still the same as the Kraken (by virtue of the £24 I pay to get the 10% off, so £425 for either bike), on that basis I'd probably go Felt for no other reason then to have something someone else won't have really given.

Similarly I've found a Q520 (http://www.tweekscycles.com/bikes/hardtail-mountain-bikes/felt-q520-hardtail-mountain-bike-2012 thanks Neal) which will be a competitor for the Vulcan for me, if the prices hold steady on both I'll be grabbing that Q520 in a heartbeat because the colour scheme appeals to me so much. The fork might not be up to any really aggressive terrain/riding, but that won't matter for a while really and I can upgrade, the brakes might be superior though so I don't just pay to have a sticker in this case.

Budget wise I think the Vulcan/Q520 is what I should really go for, I have to get a lid, lights, lubricants, inner tubes and I'll want other bits like gloves and glasses (clear lense, I have suitable shades) amongst other things later and the money starts to pile up quite quickly though I'll buy this stuff in advance so I'm not waiting for those when the bike comes. I feel like the extra to have the Kraken or similar isn't necessary for me yet, and when it is I can possibly consider getting something much more pricey and ultimately better.

Edit: I've also formulated a plan for the voucher issue, tweeks don't let you redeem online for example. I'll get vouchers to cover the accessories and such and then buy the bike as I see fit myself immediately as I can price watch as soon as my pay comes in and go for whatever.
 
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I very nearly bought a Q520 in that very scheme as a winter beater, it's a steal for that price tag. It also has the bonus of being a "big brand" bike instead of a supermarket special which in turn makes getting spare parts a lot easier if needed. The brakes are indeed powerful, perhaps a bit lacking in feel, but they'll certainly do the job more than adequately - experience talks, I found myself heading over the bars on my first Rockhopper with Dracos in a quick situation.
 
Noted, noted very carefully :lol:. There seems to be a trend in discounted Felt bikes around the net right now, I just didn't see the 520 in that many places though any with Felt had discounted 620s. As I say the only real problem I see with the 520 is the fork, but it can be replaced down the road if I need something better but so long as it doesn't brake I think I'll be fine for a long time. I just hope the price holds steady, if it doesn't I'll have a much more tricky decision to make.
 
I don't know what I need for a bike, I'm 16, and pretty much bike on the road, my street is all uphill, and I've narrowed it down to about 2 bikes.

GMC Denali Road Bike, or Mantis Raptor Mountain bike.

Budget is probably up to $160 maybe a little more. Is a suspension really necessary for road?
 
It's more for fitness, and my dad thinks I don't need a road bike, and a mountain bike would be fine, the one I'm looking at has no suspension. I'm 16, and don't know how far I would be allowed to go off of my street, it's not too light?
 
Well you won't get fit if you can't go off your street. Why he'd want you to get a mountain bike when you only ride on the road is beyond me though. It's just extra weight and a less efficient position to deal with.
 
Must have some strict parents! By time I was 12/13 I was big into mountain biking, had a 1999 Carrera Kraken, would ride that thing literally everywhere and my mother didn't really mind at all, had to wear a helmet and be back by a certain time but that was it!

I guess it depends on the neighbourhood though, I lived in a valley town within 5mins ride of a forest full of bike trails, wasn't much of a reason to restrict me to the street and wouldn't have changed much even if she did!
 
It's not that they don't trust me, it's that they don't trust other drivers, because it's more of a busier road off of my street.

It's a half mile uphill, then back down to my house, at the bottom of a cul-de-sac, so it's good for running, not for biking.
 
You should do timed rides to the top of the hill, if its steep enough then it could certaintly provide a good way to get fit via a bike.

Imagine you time every single run you do and work on your improvement over a few weeks/months? Could work. Aren't there places you could take your bike with less busy roads or offroad footpaths, even cycling paths within near distance to your house?
 
Bigbazz
You should do timed rides to the top of the hill, if its steep enough then it could certaintly provide a good way to get fit via a bike.

Imagine you time every single run you do and work on your improvement over a few weeks/months? Could work. Aren't there places you could take your bike with less busy roads or offroad footpaths, even cycling paths within near distance to your house?
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A park, which is a circle about a mile long. Flat, I did take that into consideration and that could be of use.
 
Seems like there's not a lot of room for you to cycle around where you live. I'd strongly advise you not to get an expensive road bike. Mountain bikes are getting so darn good these days that they do their job so incredibly well, whether it's on or off the road.
 
Bram Turismo
Seems like there's not a lot of room for you to cycle around where you live. I'd strongly advise you not to get an expensive road bike. Mountain bikes are getting so darn good these days that they do their job so incredibly well, whether it's on or off the road.
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The Mountain bikes I've found are pretty much the same price as the road bike.
 
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Oh how I'm missing my bike. Haven't ridden for two weeks now and it's starting to show: beer gut growing, fags are getting the better of me and my blood pressure has shot through the roof never mind my blood-sugar levels!

Arrrgghhh Shem needs bike!!!!
 
Dragonistic
...Similarly I've found a Q520 (http://www.tweekscycles.com/bikes/hardtail-mountain-bikes/felt-q520-hardtail-mountain-bike-2012 thanks Neal) which will be a competitor for the Vulcan for me, if the prices hold steady on both I'll be grabbing that Q520 in a heartbeat because the colour scheme appeals to me so much. The fork might not be up to any really aggressive terrain/riding, but that won't matter for a while really and I can upgrade, the brakes might be superior though so I don't just pay to have a sticker in this case.

Budget wise I think the Vulcan/Q520 is what I should really go for, I have to get a lid, lights, lubricants, inner tubes and I'll want other bits like gloves and glasses (clear lense, I have suitable shades) amongst other things later and the money starts to pile up quite quickly though I'll buy this stuff in advance so I'm not waiting for those when the bike comes. I feel like the extra to have the Kraken or similar isn't necessary for me yet, and when it is I can possibly consider getting something much more pricey and ultimately better.

Edit: I've also formulated a plan for the voucher issue, tweeks don't let you redeem online for example. I'll get vouchers to cover the accessories and such and then buy the bike as I see fit myself immediately as I can price watch as soon as my pay comes in and go for whatever.
Click to expand...

The Felt Q520 looks good compared to the Vulcan, I doubt you would notice a huge difference between the Suntour XCT fork on the Q520 and the XCM on the Vulcan although this post does explain the differences between them. If you want you can have my old XCM fork as I'm never going to use it again although I imagine all it would confirm is the there is little difference between them, a higher quality air fork will make a significant improvement but that can be something you sort out down the line.

Tweeks is part of Demon Tweeks in Wrexham so it should be close enough for you to drive to but if you’re getting vouchers to use online Chain Reaction Cycles will probably be your best bet as they’re the biggest.

As another option Canyon in Germany have just started their annual sale so their cheapest bike including delivery is now approx £500 although I know this is a fair bit more than you’re planning on spending.


W3HS
Oh how I'm missing my bike. Haven't ridden for two weeks now and it's starting to show: beer gut growing, fags are getting the better of me and my blood pressure has shot through the roof never mind my blood-sugar levels!

Arrrgghhh Shem needs bike!!!!
Click to expand...

Boris bike? 💡 :lol:


I went out on my bike for only the third time this month as it's been difficult to find time with the house move, it was a fairly short ride and th average speed was still a bit low :guilty:
 
Hello again, I decided to take the advice given here and use both a mountain and racing bike as I have both at my disposal.
In other news I went for a cycle with friends and took a mountain bike because I wasn't sure were we would be going. Everyone bar one had a mountain bike and I was able to keep up with the break away pack with no bother at all. (Massive proud moment :) )
And today I took the racer out for the first time in a long time, I was on roads I took the mountain bike on, and it was rewarding to see the difference. I was able to see massive improvments in my fitness over past outings.
Unimportant Stats on todays cycle:
Distance 28.38 Km, Ave. Speed 25Km/h, Max Speed 41Km/h, Time 1h 07 mins.
 

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