The daily "I cycled to work" thread
Discussion
yellowjack said:
miln0039 said:
yellowjack said:
no mudguards.
I still need to get round to mudguards myself!! But I think they'll ruin the lines of the bike 
You cannot seriously buy one of these: http://www.sportsdirect.com/cycling/mountain-bikes... and then get sniffy about 'spoiling the lines' with lights and muddies. Riding about in the dark without lights and reflectors is, quite simply, arrogance and irresponsibility of the highest order. Never mind the fact that in any collision with a motor vehicle there is potential for a fatality, so the rider puts himself at risk. Add to that the effect on the rider's family, and the ammo such collisions give to the likes of Brake, but think also of the effect it would have on you as a driver.
If you were to wipe out some unseen cyclist, would you, in all honesty, be able to shrug it off guilt free, saying "his fault, no way I could have stopped". Nope, you'd be arrested for sure, even if it didn't result in charges being brought, and I don't think anyone who has an ounce of humanity could ever forget seeing another human being lying dead as a result of their actions.
Kermit power said:
Well tonight realty was the night of the living braindead!
I don't think I managed more than half a mile at any point of my twilight to fully dark commute without coming across some black clad, light free, reflector free retard with a death wish!
What on earth was it about tonight which brought so many of them out of the woodwork?
Always happens at this time of year when people don't realise how quickly the nights are drawing in. I think some cyclists don't think they need lights unless it is pitch black - one of the biggest problems is the fact that this is the hardest time of year to get yourself seen - you need a brighter light to stand out in the twilight than the pitch black.I don't think I managed more than half a mile at any point of my twilight to fully dark commute without coming across some black clad, light free, reflector free retard with a death wish!
What on earth was it about tonight which brought so many of them out of the woodwork?
Really foul weather here this morning: driving rain, swirling wind and wet leaves everywhere making things extra slippery.
Whilst its vaguely understandable on the open road that you could get away with no lights till a certain time, and you find yourself caught out - in Richmond Park however, where as soon as its dark its pitch black, you have no f
king excuse not to put lights on your bike, or your back if you are running/walking on the road. I often shout at people in the park for being total lemmings, they're totally invisible, why should I be injured thanks to a .
king excuse not to put lights on your bike, or your back if you are running/walking on the road. I often shout at people in the park for being total lemmings, they're totally invisible, why should I be injured thanks to a .DrMekon said:
I use SKS longboards on my Tricross. Means I've got room for cross tyres if it snows.
Mines a singlecross, and I'm running it fixed. Doing hill repeats to and from work atm, and managed to de-thread the lockring on my 6th descent - not a nice feeling.
What width did you go for?Mines a singlecross, and I'm running it fixed. Doing hill repeats to and from work atm, and managed to de-thread the lockring on my 6th descent - not a nice feeling.
That doesn't sound like an ideal situation to be in...
DrMekon said:
I went for the 45s - they are huge - can fit 37mm ice tyres under them. If you can't see yourself running big tyres under them, get some narrower ones.
Cool.I am running 32mm at the moment and would imagine I will use these tyres in winter only and will probably take the mudguards off in the summer when I fit skinnier tyres.
Cheers for taking time to reply.
miln0039 said:
Sorry YellowJack - I wasn't disagreeing with you in the slightest, I should have put an O/T logo on my post as it entirely a self centered point I was making!! Sorry for the confusion!
Don't apologise, that should be me. What I typed came across a bit 'heavy'. To be fair it was meant to, but it wasn't aimed at you. In reality, the people it was aimed at will probably never read it, and even if they did, probably wouldn't recognise themselves as being part of the problem. Also, if you have a nice bike, you wouldn't want to spoil the lines with muddies, and a lot of road bikes don't have fitting points for them anyway, and the temporary solutions such as 'Raceblades' rely on plastic ties that have the potential to damage paint. I certainly won't be putting 'guards on my 'best' bike. My solution will be to re-commission my old steel racer as a winter bike, complete with permanent mudguards fitted to the mounting points on the frame, and the widest tyres I can fit inside them. miln0039 said:
Incidentally can anybody recommend any mudguards for my Specialized TriCross Sport? Tyres I believe are 700x32, I have no idea what will fit these / the frame. But I am most definitely bored of getting soaked from underneath!!
Like DrMekon, I was going to recommend SKS as a manufacturer. They do make a good quality mudguard. To be fair, he has given you more info than I could, and a more relevant opinion based on more recent experience. Good luck with the staying dry thing!! A day of mixed fortunes and harsh revelations.
Cresting one of the harsher hills on my commute I spotted another cyclist about 800 yards ahead. On the following hill, which is also a bit of a stinker, I caught and passed him. Didn't seem to put in any more effort than I usually do when climbing that hill to do so.
Checked on strava later.. beat my best time by 26 seconds. Yay but also boo for not apparently being able to put in the effort without a target to chase.
Arrived at work. lay out kit before shower... shirt, grundies, socks, shoes... oh dear.
Fortunately a colleague rides a motorbike in and worries about forgetting stuff to the extent he keeps a spare set of clothes at work. Bib shorts + work shirt not a good look!
Cresting one of the harsher hills on my commute I spotted another cyclist about 800 yards ahead. On the following hill, which is also a bit of a stinker, I caught and passed him. Didn't seem to put in any more effort than I usually do when climbing that hill to do so.
Checked on strava later.. beat my best time by 26 seconds. Yay but also boo for not apparently being able to put in the effort without a target to chase.
Arrived at work. lay out kit before shower... shirt, grundies, socks, shoes... oh dear.
Fortunately a colleague rides a motorbike in and worries about forgetting stuff to the extent he keeps a spare set of clothes at work. Bib shorts + work shirt not a good look!
hurstg01 said:
Was woken up during the night by lashing rain and high winds; woke up this morning groggy to dreadful weather so I drove in - the roads were clear and no big puddles 
felt cheated by the weather
Similar situation for me down in Southampton. It was just about wet enough on the ground to justify the car, but not as bad as I thought it would be....feel I've let myself down, my bike down, my fuel bill down and my fellow cyclists down. felt cheated by the weathermiln0039 said:
Similar situation for me down in Southampton. It was just about wet enough on the ground to justify the car, but not as bad as I thought it would be....feel I've let myself down, my bike down, my fuel bill down and my fellow cyclists down.
southampton first thing was really bad. police were stopping people from going down certain roads!garrykiller said:
miln0039 said:
Similar situation for me down in Southampton. It was just about wet enough on the ground to justify the car, but not as bad as I thought it would be....feel I've let myself down, my bike down, my fuel bill down and my fellow cyclists down.
southampton first thing was really bad. police were stopping people from going down certain roads!
garrykiller said:
miln0039 said:
Similar situation for me down in Southampton. It was just about wet enough on the ground to justify the car, but not as bad as I thought it would be....feel I've let myself down, my bike down, my fuel bill down and my fellow cyclists down.
southampton first thing was really bad. police were stopping people from going down certain roads!I felt suitably badass. For double man points I was on my new single-speed.
S10GTA said:
I woke up this morning oblivious to last nights weather, bar a small puddle in the back garden. The sun was even shining at 8am. I rode in via Marchwood and there was huge swathes of water running off the fields. The puddles were up to the pedals.
I felt suitably badass. For double man points I was on my new single-speed.
PHWOOAAARRRI felt suitably badass. For double man points I was on my new single-speed.
(is that what you wanted?)
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