The daily "I cycled to work" thread (Vol 2)
Discussion
I rode in yesterday. It was chuffing cold but nice to be out on the bike after having the Christmas off. Muggins here managed to clip the front mudguard with his toe so that it flipped up and stuck under the downtube... a moment of mild terror followed by a fall into the middle of the road as I didn't unclip in time. Luckily it was around 6am and the roads were quiet. Oops.
Just to add to the joy in this thread. Cycled yesterday and was feeling pretty good about cycling through the winter and ice. Then got a twinge in my good knee...
Will rest until Friday, stretch and then give it another go. Bit concerned as I don't want two damaged knees in my thirties. I've got the go ahead from my physio and doc to cycle but the pain in my bad knee has not gone away in over a year and a half.
Will rest until Friday, stretch and then give it another go. Bit concerned as I don't want two damaged knees in my thirties. I've got the go ahead from my physio and doc to cycle but the pain in my bad knee has not gone away in over a year and a half.
1ians said:
Just to add to the joy in this thread. Cycled yesterday and was feeling pretty good about cycling through the winter and ice. Then got a twinge in my good knee...
Will rest until Friday, stretch and then give it another go. Bit concerned as I don't want two damaged knees in my thirties. I've got the go ahead from my physio and doc to cycle but the pain in my bad knee has not gone away in over a year and a half.
I feel your pain, im 30s and my bad knee has never really recovered 100% in last year then I tripped over a grave stone (dont ask) in the pitch black and fell on granite, my good knee took all the impact!! 3 months on the good knee is still sore to touch but never get any pain when its being used!! Will rest until Friday, stretch and then give it another go. Bit concerned as I don't want two damaged knees in my thirties. I've got the go ahead from my physio and doc to cycle but the pain in my bad knee has not gone away in over a year and a half.
Newbie here... been cycling for a few months now in London.
It was 0 today when I left home in Surrey for Millbank. However after the initial cold I managed to get up to temps. Wondering how cold is really too cold for me to commute by cycle? I am thinking -2 and its not worth the risk?
The saving grace is the shear number of cars means that usually the roads are pretty ice free.
I finding after following the advice on here that GT 4 seasons tyres are inspiring a great deal of confidence.
It was 0 today when I left home in Surrey for Millbank. However after the initial cold I managed to get up to temps. Wondering how cold is really too cold for me to commute by cycle? I am thinking -2 and its not worth the risk?
The saving grace is the shear number of cars means that usually the roads are pretty ice free.
I finding after following the advice on here that GT 4 seasons tyres are inspiring a great deal of confidence.
I went prepared this morning, top to bottom :-
Helmet
Thermal beanie
Glasses
Snood
Outer waterproof jacket
Winter cycling jacket
Cycling top
Thermal base layer
DHB Thermal gloves (I cannot express how impressed I am with these gloves in the cold)
Winter Cycling bib tights
Cycling shorts over the top for extra padding
Thermal trousers (not for cycling, but my employer has them on our catalogue for free, oh yes!)
Sealskins overshoes
SPD cycling shoes
Thick thermal sock (employer provided, oh yes!)
Hothands warming pads near to my toes (that otherwise really suffer!)
DHB thermal socks
Probably took 20 minutes, maybe more to get dressed, but it was great ! Left home at 06:00 in the dark as I normally do, I cycled along the canal towpath, average temp was -2 degrees C, min temp -4 degrees C, I could see the layer of ice on the canal, got to work after an hour and 5 mins of cycling, and felt great.
I've vowed for the past 2 years that next winter I will man up and crack on, and this is the year, I've been out 6 times this year already, and done more January mileage than I ever have, I hope the trend continues.
Helmet
Thermal beanie
Glasses
Snood
Outer waterproof jacket
Winter cycling jacket
Cycling top
Thermal base layer
DHB Thermal gloves (I cannot express how impressed I am with these gloves in the cold)
Winter Cycling bib tights
Cycling shorts over the top for extra padding
Thermal trousers (not for cycling, but my employer has them on our catalogue for free, oh yes!)
Sealskins overshoes
SPD cycling shoes
Thick thermal sock (employer provided, oh yes!)
Hothands warming pads near to my toes (that otherwise really suffer!)
DHB thermal socks
Probably took 20 minutes, maybe more to get dressed, but it was great ! Left home at 06:00 in the dark as I normally do, I cycled along the canal towpath, average temp was -2 degrees C, min temp -4 degrees C, I could see the layer of ice on the canal, got to work after an hour and 5 mins of cycling, and felt great.
I've vowed for the past 2 years that next winter I will man up and crack on, and this is the year, I've been out 6 times this year already, and done more January mileage than I ever have, I hope the trend continues.
Edited by rossw46 on Thursday 5th January 20:35
Craikeybaby said:
I'm dreading venturing out into the garage to put my bike back together for the commute tomorrow morning. Far less the actual ride in, tomorrow morning.
Wimped out of fixing my bike last night, so had to drive to work this morning - after scraping ice from the inside of the windscreen...snobetter said:
rossw46 said:
I went prepared this morning, top to bottom :-
toastie stuff
Hows that on the return journey? My cold morning clothing is limited to my warmer evening clothing plus what I can put in my jersey pockets...toastie stuff
Started a new job just down the road from me now. I bought a single speed for the trip and had my first there and back today. Man its so much fun!!! yes I'm the guy that races off the line because I'm that competitive an I don't care. Here in Melbourne its been hovering around 30 degrees the past few days so its nice to feel the breeze.
So bought me a Aliminium road bike from eBay to use as winter bike. What could go wrong?
As bought...
Pretty tidy.
Changed the seat, tyres, one inner tube, added bottle cages, emergency pump, emergency tool kit, XP pedals, SKS Race guards and gave it a scrub. Sorry no picture but will take one.
It’s a Southern miserable train strike today so the roads were choked with traffic. I was a little nervous as I had never ridden the bike and also never used the Sora style shifters.
First impressions the shifters to a little while to get acclimatised to as they are slightly different to my Ultegra but they worked really well. They have hand gear position indicator on the ends of the brake levers and I have to say these were really handy. I knew how far along the back cassette I was and I could plan to use the lower front chain ring before I got too crossed up.
This bike doesn’t like Big front and Big rear combination and the chain rattles and clatters when you are in this crossed position. On the converse my Ultegra has no issue with running a crossed up cog with Big and Big on the front and rear. I also have micro shifting which minutely adjusts the chain position all but eliminating the chain grind. This has meant I have been a little lazy with my shifting on the Carbon Specialized and been caught too many times without another lower geared cog on the back to go to. I was a bit better on this bike as I could see the gear position so pre-empted my changes.
I did fine the gears were whining a lot and there seem to be a lot of drive train chatter. I immediately thought it was down to a poorly out of tune mech’ and spoils of eBay in a used bike. However before feeling too disappointed I decided I would explore all of the gears. Once I had shifted up and down the rear cassette and front cogs completely the drive train rattles settled right down. In fact I think the mechanism is a fair state of tune and only on the extreme gear positions could I notice and real whine/grind. Win.
Steel verses Carbon…
My Specialized Carbon is a fast bike even in my ape like hands and on those 23c tyres it’s a bit of a tool. On the commute it’s not a very comfy commuter as I have to constantly whizz through the gears, I have to travel close to curbs and I am ashamed to say I have ground pedals and cranks on the odd close curb when filtering through heavy traffic. So I am messing up my nice bike. Another issue I have had to contend with is that the carbon frame is very stiff and hitting nasty potholes and the like has been a body jarring experience. More than once I have had the family jewels almost shattered.
The Aluminium Trek was an absolute revelation today in the mucky snarled up conditions. The 25c Continetal GT 4 seasons offered great grip and were still rapid. I was expecting there to be more noticeable drag from the bigger sections a slightly lower tyre pressures. Not at all and I was still able to motor on. The biggest benefit was the bump absorption. The Ali bike is so much more comfortable that the Carbon over the rough roads and big potholes. I hit some whoppers today and the bike didn’t flinch or suffer massive deflections. The frame/seat didn’t clatter my manhood and pass on the pain. It just rode on and compared to my Carbon bike this thing felt plush! I never realised there would be such a big difference.
I am pretty made up. It’s been an awesome ride in. Shame about the congestion and choking on the fumes a few times.
As bought...
Pretty tidy.
Changed the seat, tyres, one inner tube, added bottle cages, emergency pump, emergency tool kit, XP pedals, SKS Race guards and gave it a scrub. Sorry no picture but will take one.
It’s a Southern miserable train strike today so the roads were choked with traffic. I was a little nervous as I had never ridden the bike and also never used the Sora style shifters.
First impressions the shifters to a little while to get acclimatised to as they are slightly different to my Ultegra but they worked really well. They have hand gear position indicator on the ends of the brake levers and I have to say these were really handy. I knew how far along the back cassette I was and I could plan to use the lower front chain ring before I got too crossed up.
This bike doesn’t like Big front and Big rear combination and the chain rattles and clatters when you are in this crossed position. On the converse my Ultegra has no issue with running a crossed up cog with Big and Big on the front and rear. I also have micro shifting which minutely adjusts the chain position all but eliminating the chain grind. This has meant I have been a little lazy with my shifting on the Carbon Specialized and been caught too many times without another lower geared cog on the back to go to. I was a bit better on this bike as I could see the gear position so pre-empted my changes.
I did fine the gears were whining a lot and there seem to be a lot of drive train chatter. I immediately thought it was down to a poorly out of tune mech’ and spoils of eBay in a used bike. However before feeling too disappointed I decided I would explore all of the gears. Once I had shifted up and down the rear cassette and front cogs completely the drive train rattles settled right down. In fact I think the mechanism is a fair state of tune and only on the extreme gear positions could I notice and real whine/grind. Win.
Steel verses Carbon…
My Specialized Carbon is a fast bike even in my ape like hands and on those 23c tyres it’s a bit of a tool. On the commute it’s not a very comfy commuter as I have to constantly whizz through the gears, I have to travel close to curbs and I am ashamed to say I have ground pedals and cranks on the odd close curb when filtering through heavy traffic. So I am messing up my nice bike. Another issue I have had to contend with is that the carbon frame is very stiff and hitting nasty potholes and the like has been a body jarring experience. More than once I have had the family jewels almost shattered.
The Aluminium Trek was an absolute revelation today in the mucky snarled up conditions. The 25c Continetal GT 4 seasons offered great grip and were still rapid. I was expecting there to be more noticeable drag from the bigger sections a slightly lower tyre pressures. Not at all and I was still able to motor on. The biggest benefit was the bump absorption. The Ali bike is so much more comfortable that the Carbon over the rough roads and big potholes. I hit some whoppers today and the bike didn’t flinch or suffer massive deflections. The frame/seat didn’t clatter my manhood and pass on the pain. It just rode on and compared to my Carbon bike this thing felt plush! I never realised there would be such a big difference.
I am pretty made up. It’s been an awesome ride in. Shame about the congestion and choking on the fumes a few times.
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