Cycling: shifting systems?

gt85 - not as bad as its made out, better than nothing.
finish line dry lube - leaves waxy residue, reputedly good for the summer (I hate it, it doesnt seem to do much at all and am looking for a better summer lube)

neither is good enough for wet weather. You need a thick viscous winter lube.

Rohloff is superb, but really expensive and a tiny little bottle.
Finesse also do a viscous lube that is suitable for wet weather, only 3.99 a can, Ive been well impressed with it.

Dom, you need to put a lube on after you degrease your chainset. A degreaser acts a bit like mega-washing-up-liquid, and basically takes all the lubricant (and greasy crap) off. It needs washing off before you apply lubricant.

Id reccomend a chain cleaning device, which you fill with hot soapy water, and then apply degreaser, and then some more clean water, and then dry it, and then lube.

This is the type of device.

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?i...mages?q=chain+cleaner&svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&sa=G

 

Can't really see how people have trouble with clipless pedals. To un-'clip' you just twist your foot and that's it - where's the issue ? Using old style clips and straps is a completely different story though: even if you have the straps done up lightly you usually still need to reach down to loosen them with your hand first.

I had a few, ahem, 'mishaps' with clips and straps, esp. using them for commuting but never had a problem with clipless pedals. Would never consider using anything else these days. All the benefits of clips and straps with none of the dangers of getting "locked" to your bike.

Michael.

 

That is what I'm worried about with clipless, its getting locked to the pedals, I must admit I've never tried them. I think I'd find them hard to apply (get foot onto the device), I have clips but no straps so I can release my foot at any time, the clips are there to stop my foot from flying forward and that's it.

 

Your worry is unnecessary. Clipless pedals enjoy almost universal acceptance. Clipping in becomes very easy especially with double sided pedals and unclipping is easy as pie. Only negative is that you have to be wearing your cycling shoes if you want to ride!

 

...unless you get platform pedals with a clipless centre, like a Crank Brothers Mallet, or a Shimano 545.

NB,
I fell off my bike last week (well I went flying over the handlebars most unexpectedly) and I became unclipped without realising. You only get into problems if you 'forget' or if the pedals are too tight IME.

 

It's much, much easier getting in and out of a clipless pedal than toe clips...
The only minor problem is if you're doing a steep downhill (off road!) with corners and stuff it's more difficult to weight the outside of your pedal for extra traction, and more hassle to put a handy motocross foot down.
But for cross country and road you can't beat them.. Best are Crank Bros, as has been said before..

 

i think my problems are down to small parts - stiff release springs need to be used a bit before loosening up, a wide foot not giving me much 'twist room' being so close to the crank and large parts me being a forgetful numptie.
cheers


julian.

 

Good old Pashleys

Chaps

I bought one of these nearly eighteen months ago.

http://www.pashley.co.uk/products/classic/paramount/specification.html

It has a 5 speed twist grip hub gear which most people overlook.

They are dead reliable and the big advantage is that you can change gear when walking the bike or even when it is stationary.
I can go from top to bottom in less than one second.

It requires bugger all maintenance and you can drop the bike and not worry about damage.

Overall a brilliant and reliable system.

Regards

Mick

 

That gear changing system is a little like Julians Rohloff speed hub Mick.

http://www.rohloffusa.com/frame.htm

The pashley is a classic design, and that type of bike is at the roots of mountain biking - its the kind of frame that started the hobby - American kids would take this type of bike up a massive hill, and just have a wail of a time coming down, leaving the path just to have as much fun on the descent as possible.

http://merlinbike.com/bikes/2005/roots.aspx

 

My Kona Muni-Mula has a mixture of Shimano Deore XT and LX with thumb shifts. I've had it for about 7 years now and never had an issue with it – easy positive shifts every time.

Tony.

 

How much is it, or is it one of those, if you have to ask you can't afford it, things. I like the hub brake idea too, how good are they, how rugged is the bike, it looks great though, a nice alternative to other bikes I've looked at.

5 gears might not be enough around here though do they do one with more?

 

Not many blokes would admit to that

 

Pashleys

Lee

The Paramount has a RRP of £399.00 which considering the build quality is not a bad price. I used to be a Purchasing Manager with the Post Office and was responsible for the purchase of 6000 postbikes each year and Pashleys nearly always won the contract because of their quality.


Their product range is shown here.

http://www.pashley.co.uk/products.html

Regards

Mick

 

IN small parts damn it IN small parts.

 

Julian - you can adjust the release tension of the pedals (rather like ski bindings).

 

I recommend the Shim M424 which is identical to the M545 except the cage is plastic version: 1. they are considerably cheaper than the M545 (29.99 vs 49.99), 2. they are lighter, 3. when they get scuffed you dont care. I kind of consider them as semi-disposable.

They are easily ridable with trainers, not fantastic, but not frustrating either. When clipped in they provide a broader platform of support to my feet than my M959's which is particularly handy on descents - however one point of note - when heavily clogged with crud I have sometimes found the clip mechnism becomes difficult to escape which is usually in the conditions you are most likely to need to escape.

I really like the M959, they are lighter, naturally, but for the convenience of not having to always wear my Sidi's the M424's are handy.

 

michael,
i use crank bros mallets (basically eggbeaters in a flattie) which don;t seem to have any tension adjustment, they are getting easier to clip in/out of but i still have to squirm my foot to engage them. hopefully they'll loosen up a bit more over time. the last fall was caused by me trying to talk to someone, modulate new disk brakes and unclip at the same time, loss of concentration meant i jammed on the brakes whilst panicing about unclipping causing me to stop and fall over.
managed to stop outside the pub this weekend without falling off
cheers


julian.

 

Just learn to trackstand, you'll be fine.

 

What IS "trackstanding"? Heard about it loads but still don't know exactly what it means...

EDIT - just seen that Pashley adult tricycle - I *have* to get one of those! We had a three wheeler at the blind school and it kicked arse - especially with 3 of us in the basket (we were all <12 y/o when we had access to that bohemoth!).

Riding down the steps in it was one hell of a rush!

 

and when both wheels are sliding diagonally towards a tractor rut and it's -1C with rocks and stones everywhere you look and you're 15 miles from your car?