help, been unfaithful to HOBBY

Porblem is dom it all happened so fast I can't really 100% remember how it happened, but I have been reading a lot about brakes Especially this website and "efficency" dam can't remember the term used, mechanical advantage or something, anyway my theory is that although they worked ie touched the rims I don't think I was able to apply enough preasure to force the pads into the rim, thus they where not applying enough friction to the rim, thus I didn't slow down, even though I was pulling hard on the levers, my brakes only locked when I hit the gravel but by then I was already hitting 25 mph and had no chance. I want to prevent this happening again so its either a brake or a bike upgrade. What does annoy me though is that the bike was checked over not 3 weeks before (a bike safety compaign they were running at work where a local bike shop checked over you bike) and given the all clear. Is there a good way to test brake efficency other than the unreliable push bike with brake on test?

Also Dom I have the old style Cantilever brakes you have V-brakes, V's are supposed to be better, and I can get an upgrade kit from wiggle for £30 just wondering if this is worth while doing. Ya I hate cycling in the wet, brakes are totally usless in the wet.

 

Arr ha, great idea, so all I need to know now is what is compaticble with my bike and then search ebay, nice one thanks.

 

Aha! That explains it Get the upgrade kit, and get those well-expensive blocks like mine - they work fairly well in the wet (nice 35 mph coming down Stoke Hill in the wet a couple of years back - he he!) and they kick ass in the dry!

 

I may be just unlucky, but the four family mountain bikes seem to get punctures all the time. They don't do any real off-road work,. I don't remember having this problem with my bikes when I was a teenager. Why are mountain bike tyres so crap? surely they should be made to take more punishment and be more resistent to punctures.

Rod

 

rod,
keep the tubes pumped up to avoid pinch flats and failing that i've had great success using slime (or similar) innertubes, which have a liquid inside which solidifies on contact with air. i've had branches stuck to my tyre from their thorns - just pull 'em off, put some more air in the tyre and off you go. they do weigh more though if that's a concern but i consider the practicality worth it.
cheers


julian.

 

rodrat I've succumbed to the lure of the slimed one.

It is the only thing that will keep out the evil thorn that I have seen work. Julian hasnt had a single puncture, and I must have had 10+ in the same time period.

They are only 7.50 per tube, which isnt much.

Ive also seen thick armour tape that you can put inside your tyre. This is still adding weight to the wheel though, so I am going for the slime tubes which I KNOW work, instead of the armour tape which MIGHT work.

 

Just come and ride where we have proper hills and no thorny things. I've just had 3 snakebites while I've lived up here (two of them simultaneously and due to cheap dodgy inner tubes that lost pressure whilst riding through poor valves. That was a fun 4 mile walk home.)

 

I think it's extortionate - same as bike-specific lube and bike wash is...
If you go to an agricultural suppliers (like Countrywide) you can get a 5 litre tub of it for about the same price!
Or you can go tubeless like I have..

 

You want to carry a spare!
I always carry 2 spare tubes (despite being tubeless), tyre irons, allen keys, screw driver, chain splitter and a couple of spare links, pair of pliers, pump and some tape...
I've done that every since a chain broke in Kings Cross at 2am, and I tried to fix it under a street light using a screw I'd found and a half brick...

 

the only person I know running tubeless still gets the occasional flat, only now its harder for him to get to the puncture.

If he rode on the routes that we do, he'd get more than he does now..

The route I do has one side of the path completely covered in thorn bushes (for hundreds of miles - its a canal path). Several times a year they chop the bushes with strimmers, and leave spikey landmines all over the path. Yesterday, I got 4!! punctures.. slimey tubes are just needed...!

 

I hate punctures...I remember when I got my first trek mountain bike - a trek 950 in about '91/'92...I had cycled up to wylam (from newcastle) and was riding back...got a flat tyre, but on my previous bike (a naff raleigh), I was able to use some table spoons, but not with the trek, the rims were that narrow...sigh...I didn't enjoy walking home from Lemington!!

 

I haven't had a flat in 2 years!
And we're amply served with hawthorn and blackthorn hedges which are frequently chopped.. Still, most if my off roading is in a forest area with mainly tree roots for entertainment - not much in the way of sharp rocks..
And I do recommend agricultural slime - much, much cheaper! (However, I only say this as hearsay - local farmers swear by it in everything from tractors to quads to pushbikes...)

 

since this is becoming a general 'cycling thread'

Has anyone tried one of the San Marco split saddles?

Im considering one for my MTB, but havent ridden one..

here's the type of thing..

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/San-Marco-Cr-...182680455QQcategoryZ22693QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

Have 30 years of cycling expirience but have not tried a split saddle. But i can tell you that ask 10 people and get 10 different answer's. If your bum is unaccustomed to riding ALL saddles will make you sore. This sensitive area toughens up with use though. When you find a saddle that works for you its great. I bought a super duper £70 sadle after mates recomended it and it gave me a boil. Sorry the reply is not more positive but San Marco is a respected make so you can only suck it and see. BTW split saddles have a good reputation for comfort.

 

Hi Bottleneck,

This

http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech.php?id=tech/2005/reviews/selle_san_marco_rever

is what I use on my new Colnago (only it's marked Colnago). I first thought it would be very hard (it is) but it is comfortable, efficient, and you forget about it after a while. Of course, MTB riding is different and I have no experience in this respect. And I don't know that the saddle being split or not makes any difference (perceivable to me)

I did 218 km last saturday, and I think my butt was no sorer than anybody else's in the pack.

I'm doing 350 km on saturday/sunday, I'll keep you posted ...

 

That split saddle looks like a tool of the devil! HOW can it be comfortable???

Mind you, the razor blade on my bike is (literally) a pain in the arse, and I've had the bike 2 years! I'm tempted to get a Brooks and bung it on there!

 

Brooks saddles are great (although I understand they need time to conform to your shape) but on vintage bikes. And they require a little maintenance. You don't want one on a full-carbon contemporary machine.

 

Oh yes..
It takes a while of extreme pain and torture, then it's the most comfy thing in the world...
A less extreme version is the Rolls - I used to use one on a road bike, then on an MTB and it was great for both!
Currently running Fizik saddles on both bikes. I don't notice them, which possibly tells you nothing at all about them, apart from
a) they're really comfortable
b) I have a callous covering the whole area between the leisure centre and the sewage works

 

Yes, I had Rolls on my old bike. Loved it, but not "sleek" enough for my new design.

 

Ive used a stock Flite on all my bikes so far.

I dont think it will be a huge departure from a flite.

The San Marco Concor Lite looks reasonably attractive for the cash..
http://www.in-gearonline.co.uk/product.php?id=129&currency=US$

But does not come with the weight saving of the split saddle designs.

Decisions decisions