The biking thread

[Shaun]

It's nice to see the stunned look on people faces when they inquire how much my bike retails for and then they realise that their entire house contents or their motorcycle isn't worth as much.

Tell me about it, and there's also the constant upgrade syndrome.

Because I have it's little brother I been eyeing off this.
An Opera Canova.

Two problems.
First: I haven't mentioned it to Mrs Shaun.
Second: When looking at the Canova I start to look at it's big brother the Superleonardo.

Sigh, thing is my current bike is still above my cycling prowess anyway. I just want.

Cheers Shaun.

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

That moment when you pull alongside another road cyclist on your £1,000+ bike and realise his rear wheel alone is worth more than your entire set-up. As you begin to price up the rest of his bike, a single tear rolls down your cheek...

 

[Joey D]

So I finally got a bike, my aunt gave me this and said it had been sitting in her shed for as long as she could remember. I cleaned it up after worked today and took a couple of pictures. Apparently it's a Panasonic MC-4500. I wasn't even aware Panasonic made bikes, but apparently they do. I took it for a quick spin around the apartment complex and it seems to be in pretty good order. It needs to have the brakes adjusted and a kickstand installed, but other it's not too bad. I live less than 2 miles from work so once the weather makes up it's mind I can just ride the bike.







So does anyone know more about the bike by chance? From what I could dig up on the Internet it's from the late 80's.

 

[W3H5]

Panasonic make bikes? News to me!

Seems like it would make a perfect 'ride-to-work' bike when Mr. Sun comes out to play. Strange geometry though, but I can quite put my finger on what makes it look strange.

Also, kickstands are for riders who intend to stop.

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

I can't quite put my finger on what makes it look strange.

The stem.

 

[NissanSkylineN1]

My 700C tubes won't keep 120 PSI in them. Any idea?

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

My 700C tubes won't keep 120 PSI in them. Any idea?

I take it you mean that you have the inner tube and tyre on the wheel and are trying to pump it up? Are your tyres rated to 120 PSI? That's some ridiculous pressure to be running, even if you weigh a tonne!

Could be that the tyre isn't seated properly (rim strip might not be seated over the spokes correctly). Overpressure would be my first guess.

 

[W3H5]

My 700C tubes won't keep 120 PSI in them. Any idea?

700C race tyres? Or general road tyres?

Many are rated up to 120psi but that doesn't mean that that pressure is their optimum.

I was running over 100 and got punctures frequently because it was just to hard. I dropped down to 85-95 and things have been going smoothly.

I assume you're using Presta valves (French Valves)? You'll observe a small screw on the spindle at the top of the valve which moves a few mm to open and close. Having this open allows air in or out. Closing it keeps air in, obviously. Check that your screw is all the way down so that pressure isnt' escaping that way.

Forget the tyres, they aren't of concern yet, the tubes may be leaky. Check around the valve seal. It'll act normally under regular pressure but might open a seam at the loads you're using.

Finally, is it necessary for you to run 120psi? Providing you're a regular size person then 85+ should do the trick. If a little on the larger side then take it up to 95-100 and see what happens. You really shouldn't need 120 since I assume you aren't doing a TT every ride. Also, anything other than baby-arse smooth roads will leave you with more punctures than you'd like at limit pressure.

 

[Omnis]

I need this for my bike:

 

[NissanSkylineN1]

I'm using presta valves, on a 70's race bike. The tires are Michelin Lithion 2. Good tires. I weigh 210 LBS and the tires look kinda low when I'm on the bike. I'm also scared of getting pinch flats.

EDIT: lowered pressure to 100PSI, max psi on the tires were 105. Oops.

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

I'm using presta valves, on a 70's race bike. The tires are Michelin Lithion 2. Good tires. I weigh 210 LBS and the tires look kinda low when I'm on the bike. I'm also scared of getting pinch flats.

EDIT: lowered pressure to 100PSI, max psi on the tires were 105. Oops.

So they aren't dropping pressure anymore?

If they look too low, you might need to replace the tyres. I'm around your weight and run Schwalbe Ultremo ZX which are rated to 145 psi and stick like something icky to a blanket.

 

[NissanSkylineN1]

They look low, but when I cleaned the tire and then checked the contact patch, the patch was perfectly fine. Pressure is ok and stable. The Lithion 2 are also very sticky. Cleaned them with a wet rag and you can feel the nice meat on the slicks. The tires aren't that old either, maybe a year? No more than 800km. Bike is a Velosport Criteron, with beautiful Shimano 600 Arabesques in front and Cyclones in the rear. I'll get pics later. For now, here are the parts I mentioned.

 

[W3H5]

They are some nice looking part.

 

[Emptyone]

Getting my bike back today after the crash, should have the new fork installed, plus a new chain, with the bonus of the car driver being willing to pay for the damage!

Also, for the Grand Tour aficionados, I thought I'd link the round up of most of the Giro in amusing video form.









Last one should be up sometime soon. His race reviews are short and cover most of the classics season too.

 

[funkyDucks]

Looks cool,
I will be hopefully be much more active in this thread now as I have been gifted my dads old racer bike. Pics will go up in the near future.

Haha... I am a lot slower at uploading than I thought.



This is my new bike, handed down by my father who as upgraded. I have had it out for a few small runs during the week and I plan to have it out for a 50k charity cycle tomorrow week.

Does anyone have any advice for where to source cycling gear online, so far I only have a muddyfox jersey and I am in dire need of padded shorts and the like.

Also is there anything I should know about my new hobby?

 

[Pagey279]

I so totally have the same bike

For the padded shorts I just went to Halfords, they are padded, and they are shorts. That's all that was needed so I went cheap.

But for more high end stuff go to http://www.evanscycles.com/. It was recommended to me a few pages back 👍

 

[funkyDucks]

The things on evans are a bit pricey for me at the minute. I don't want to blow too much cash if i end up not enjoying cycling, something from halfords is definitely more suited to me for now.

 

[ExigeEvan]

I can also suggest the Halfords padded shorts.

I've not tried any others, but they certainly do the job, even on a Carrera road saddle.

 

[ussr]

I had mine Road Bike inside my apartment, it's hard for me to become accustomed with this bike. Ill prefer MTB full suspension bikes, but road bike do the training job well.

Orbea Aqua

 

[W3H5]

I saw one of these yesterday.

TCR SL Advanced Carbon.

Was jealous.

That is all.

 

[Shaun]

Oops accidentally ordered some parts to upgrade my bike.

Now to see if the current front derailleur on my bike (Sora) works ok with the new bits. If not a trip down to the LBS shop for a 5700 105 version will sort that out.

Only other thing to work out is what colour handlebar tape to go with.
I was thinking white to make it the same as this.

Or maybe white with blue splashed through it.
Or maybe blue, I dunno.
Currently has black tape on it.
Thoughts?

Cheers Shaun.

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

We can be 105 buddies now!

I'll trade you my white tape for your black tape

 

[Shaun]

Yeah, was thinking while I like the look of the white I imagine it won't stay nice and bright looking for very long.
Leaning to staying with black atm.

Cheers Shaun.

 

[funkyDucks]

Completed my longest cycle to date today. Just under 80km. It was very enjoyable and not as difficult as i expected. I managed to keep up with some regular cyclists for the most of it.

As a result of today, I have bought a pair of cycling shorts, so I only need shoes and I am sorted

 

[W3H5]

I've had white tape before. It turned grey within weeks. The black tape I have now looks as good as it did a year ago thanks to it hiding the dirt.

 

[Mike Rotch]

Tsk tsk Shaun. Looks like G.A.S. has bitten hard .

I don't even want to think how much that gear cost .

 

[Shaun]

Tsk tsk Shaun. Looks like G.A.S. has bitten hard .

But, but I accidentally clicked buy when I was only checking what they all cost while in my cart.

It all started because on my shifters it's a pain to change into a higher gear while down in the drops. Mine have a little thumb lever for that which can only be operated while riding the hoods.
Anyway I thought if I'm getting new shifters (it was always going to be 105 gear) I may as well get the ones where the cable runs hidden under the handle bar tape.

Of course the new versions that have this feature are ten speed which makes my 9 speed cassette redundant. Also as the cogs are spaced closer on 10 v's 9 speed the chain needs to be thinner. Add that to the cart also.

My current derailleur would have done the job but I decided I may as well upgrade that while I'm at it. It's the shifters that needs the running gear to built around. The indexing in them (how far the chain is moved over during shifting) is the key. Hence why the cassette spacing needs to match. The derailleur doesn't care, it only moves as far as the shifters pre-determined indexing allows. Simply set the High/Low limits and fiddle with cable tension and the derailleur is good to go. Most modern-ish derailleurs are good for 7,8,9 and ten speed.

I don't even want to think how much that gear cost .

Not too bad actually.
The upgrade has been on the cards for a while now.
Patience is the key, I've been looking and waiting.

The shifters came from a guy in Brisbane off fleabay. They are new as he removed them from a new bike to upgrade them to Dura-Ace. Now that is pricey . Turns out he works in a bike shop and was also happy to throw in the cables required as well, all for less than half of retail price. Surprised I got them at the price really as used beaten up ones where going for the same price.

The chain, cassette and derailleur came from Ribble as they are having a Shimano sale. On average I saved around 40% of Ribble's price which is more like a 60% saving on retail over here.

The shifters are in my hands and hopefully the other parts will turn up this week as I'm keen as to get in the garage and do some spannering.

 

[DustDriver]

I've had my MTB for a couple of weeks now and I can feel my body getting fitter every week
Also slowly losing weight in the process, so that's a bonus too.

Now have to start training my upper body. My arms hurt more than my legs after going for a ride
(Has absolutely nothing to do with trying bunny hops and wheelies )

 

[Shaun]

New parts turned up for my bike yesterday.
So after a couple of hours spannering and tweaking it's shifting snickity snick.
Now if the rain would stop I could get out and put some km's on it to bed in the parts and stretch the cables properly so I can give it a final tune.

A few pics.

Front end looking less cluttered.



My point of view. No more cables to look at.



Closer look at one of the shifters.



New derailleur, cassette and chain.



Overall.



I decided to stay with the black tape over going white. Didn't realise it had print on it until I opened the box. I don't mind the look of it though.
Overall I'm pretty happy with the way it looks now. I did end up ordering a new front derailluer last week though, not sure now if I'll put it on as my old one shifts way better with the new shifters. I most likely will though.

From the quick chance I've had to ride it just around the block while tuning the gears the shifters are awesome. Much more precise shifting, more comfortable, better breaking control and most importantly I can now go up and down the cassette while in the drops and on the hoods.

Now if only the rain would stop.

 

[Mike Rotch]

Looks good mate - I think the black tape was a good choice as it will also not show dirt versus white tape in the long run. As you going to flog the stuff that came off the bike on fleabay?

Pretty massive saving on the stuff from the UK 👍 and it arrived super quickly! When with local distributors learn .