The Bicycle Thread

[Lebowski]

yeah plastic, any recommendations for replacements? They Will do till next month, this month has been quite a costly one so far, with insurance excess, building sheds and sorting out security.

Happy with the bike but It wasn't set up great by wheelies i had to adjust a fair few bits that i thought they would have got right, the worst one being that the break cables where to long, they had left a long bit of metal cable that was hitting the peddles. On the front the break cables where getting hooked on the supension lock out clip on the front forks, this messed up the steering. The disk break unit was not aligned properly either and needed adjusting to give the disks a bit more clearance too.

Was nice to have a tinker with it though, and get it all set up how i liked it all part of the fun .

[wod]

looks good but as time goes on you will end up changing bits anyway like seat, bars, grips etc.

Do any of you guys use foam bar grips ?

looking a costly month for me in bike parts, worn out bottom bracket and headset bearings already, buying some fancy hope bits to replace them with for the proper sealed skf bearings.

anyone know of a tip to get rid of squeal noise from disc brakes ?

[charlesr]

Don't use them? WD40 on the pads? Take the pads out? << jokes

(copper slip in between the pads and pistons!!!)

[wod]

Don't use them? WD40 on the pads? Take the pads out? << jokes

(copper slip in between the pads and pistons!!!)

I thought you could only use copper grease on car/motorbike pads.

It's the rear that's got particularly bad in the wet and dry, the pads are superstar Kevlar.

I wonder if they have glazed and need sanding a little, will check later.

[charlesr]

I've never tried it on bicycles I admit - used it on motorbikes.

[wod]

Yeah, today I had an unfortunate minor accident with a car, a woman in a mini pulled out just as I was passing a junction, so I hit the driver side door/mirror straight on with my bike.

Need to get my bike checked over but it looks fine to me, wheels aren't buckled must be built like a tank.

I'm not seriously injured or anything so that's something to be thankful just some grazes from rips to my gloves etc, I had my mtb trail helmet on and backpack which took most of it.

[Brad]

Hopefully her car is damaged enough to inconvenience her enough to make her pay more attention in future.

[huxley]

For sure a chamoix bottoms :-) I don't wear mine for the commmute because I like to give them a wash in between used but this won't be a commute, eh?

The biggest bit of advice is not to change anything or add something new to the bike or wear new clothing without some good miles before the event.

And enjoy and let us know how you get on.

Will do Cheers

[wod]

Huxley, how are you getting on before your charity ride ?

Charlser, over weekend I took brake pads out and the rear ones have glazed.

Ive sanded them back or shall I just replace with new ?

Going to give superstar sintered a try I think and sell on the spare Kevlar I have left.

[huxley]

Pretty good Wod. I`ve been doing regular road rides every other night. No less than 25 miles each time. My average speed is currently 16mph according to my bike computer thing. On the weekends I`ve been on the mountain bike for a bit of fun with friends.
Doing a 55 mile road ride on the bank holiday Monday (unless its windy, then its windsurfing).
Feeling a lot fitter.

With regards to squeaky disc brakes, my front one on my mountain used to make a racket when it was wet but it seems to have gotten better with wear.

[charlesr]

Sintered may squeal due to the construction, especially in the wet, but will stop

I survived the night gravity enduro.... just. Came off on stage 1 and 2. Took a wrong turn on stage 3. 4 went better.

[huxley]

this - http://www.mbswindon.co.uk/qecp-day-...ravity-enduro/ ?

Looks fun

[charlesr]

Yep. It was totally amazing. Racing in the dark is about as thrilling as it gets.

http://ride.io/news/qecp-night-day-enduro-report/

Stage 1 was pretty steep - I was accelerating down the line while the back was locked up and flossing - just had to steer around the tree stumps I hooked a tree just before a drop and ended up standing next to the bike trying to not to fall down the drop.

Stage 2 was known to me apart from the rock garden which put the fear into me, but was easier the faster you went. Lost the back going through an uphill off camber though and had to push for a bit.

Stage 3 FAST. Serveral times I arrived at corners wondering if there would be any way to stop if it wasn't quite how I remembered. Unfortunately, there was a corner I missed and went straight on down the hill... ooooops. Had to push back up to the trail. Annoying because I had almost caught the rider in front.

Stage 4 An owl flew down part of the trail with me. Amaze. Some great switchback berms near the end and a beer thrust into your hand over the line!!!!

[wod]

Sounds like you had lots of fun, how did you light up where you was riding a couple of XML t6 on bike and helmet ?

Yeah sintered do squeal when wet but so do Kevlar pads I've found.

I've put some new fresh pads in, sanding the old pads didn't seem to do anything even after cleaning the rotors with isopropyl alcohol.

I wondering to give organic pads a try as it seems there easier to bed in but don't last as long.

[charlesr]

Worth a shot. Once you've tried them all, you'll be the guru.

Yeah, Dot T6 on helmet with wide box lens and Flood T6 on bars. Plenty of light. Others had exposure 6packs which are pretty mental, but I didn't need more.