The daily "I cycled to work" thread
Discussion
okgo said:
Box Hill is one of the easiest 4-5 minute climbs in Surrey, if not the easiest.
If you want harder try, Leith HIll via Coldharbour Lane or via Leith Hill road round the back, White Down Lane, Tanhurst Lane, Barhatch Lane, Ranmore Common round the back way, all of those are local and much more of a challenge than Box Hill.
4-5 Minute ? If you want harder try, Leith HIll via Coldharbour Lane or via Leith Hill road round the back, White Down Lane, Tanhurst Lane, Barhatch Lane, Ranmore Common round the back way, all of those are local and much more of a challenge than Box Hill.
Cheers fella , i'll give it a go , it looks pretty easy to find looking at the map.
Black can man said:
4-5 Minute ?
Cheers fella , i'll give it a go , it looks pretty easy to find looking at the map.
Depends where you class the start finish I guess, yes maybe more like 5-7 pending ability. But its certainly one of the most forgiving ways of climbing 600ft.Cheers fella , i'll give it a go , it looks pretty easy to find looking at the map.
https://maps.google.com/maps/u/0/ms?gl=uk&ie=U...
Thank me later
Black can man said:
I got absolutely soaked on my Box hill climb this morning , loved it tbh
Has anyone done Leith hill ? a fella at work says this is a stiffer challenge. I'm off all week & i'm thinking i'll give it a go.
Those other climbs can be a bit 'tasty' in the wet, especially Leith. Lots of water pours off the surrounding countryside and can turn the roads into rivers, coating your bike in a greyish sludge and positively destroying your riding kit. Great fun though Has anyone done Leith hill ? a fella at work says this is a stiffer challenge. I'm off all week & i'm thinking i'll give it a go.
(It's the bit they chopped out of the RideLondon this year, I think, due to the rain).http://www.strava.com/activities/94345575
http://www.strava.com/activities/93725263
These ^^ are a couple of trips I made out to the Surrey Hills late last year in the quest for one of those pathetic 'digital badges' on Strava
The ascent of Leith from Dorking via Coldharbour Lane features a couple of times, and most of the 'named' climbs are on there, as I tried to pack as much ascent into as short a distance as possible. It worked, as I got the badge, but I damned well suffered for it at that time of the year (Brrrr!) Rocksteadyeddie said:
Gizmoish said:
louiebaby said:
Rocksteadyeddie said:
Looks like a wet one in store for those of us on the London commute. But the last week of holiday traffic 
Same down here in the South West. Still trying to work out how best to dress for warmish but pissing it down.Seemed dry on the way home, so left the gillet at work. It pissed it down for the middle half of the ride home.
So I lost all round. Ho hum. Still better than getting the bus.
Change of job, moving house, new bird and heavy heavy drinking have meant I've gone from 7 days a week to none for the last few and I've started smoking again too!
Tomorrow's the first commute to the new job, only 4 miles each way but plenty of scope to extend into the countryside.
Any other Shropshire commuters?
Tomorrow's the first commute to the new job, only 4 miles each way but plenty of scope to extend into the countryside.
Any other Shropshire commuters?
This morning I used my new Ventura road bike see other (£400 carbon frame) thread. Really different to my usual london commute on the trek hybrid. Things I've learnt
1. Very unforgiving on my backside
2. Clips need adjusting
3. Brakes rubbish and of course you have to change bar position to brake.
4. wearing a rucksack rather than a pannier is odd
Plus point is that it's a lot faster but boy do you know when you've hit a pot-hole! I will swap and change dependant on weather.
Weetabix
1. Very unforgiving on my backside
2. Clips need adjusting
3. Brakes rubbish and of course you have to change bar position to brake.
4. wearing a rucksack rather than a pannier is odd
Plus point is that it's a lot faster but boy do you know when you've hit a pot-hole! I will swap and change dependant on weather.
Weetabix
HereBeMonsters said:
Change to some decent brake pads first of all!
Swissstops are pretty much the gold standard. If you calliers are cheap its an easy and cheap upgrade to a set of 105 callipers. Road brakes can me marginal in the wet, particularly if your rims are covered in grime which is inevitable in the winter if not cleaned regularly. Rocksteadyeddie said:
HereBeMonsters said:
Change to some decent brake pads first of all!
Swissstops are pretty much the gold standard. If you calliers are cheap its an easy and cheap upgrade to a set of 105 callipers. Road brakes can me marginal in the wet, particularly if your rims are covered in grime which is inevitable in the winter if not cleaned regularly. 
stu67 said:
Couldnt agree more, just wanted to see what standard the supplied offering was up too, (not much) No traffic though so no big dramas.
I did the same and then realised as I coming down some long, steep descents on the Ventura last weekend that the lack of braking was alarming. Replaced them with 105 calipers but the standard Shimano pads are useless too, just waiting for some Koolstop pads now.
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff