benjamin1750

Most recent activity

• How much is down to the bike?

  in General • 15 years, 12 months

  

  True:)

  Yes, a lighter bike makes a difference but how much is the difference and is the difference worth the cost?

  Indeed. But one thing I've wondered is whether it matters whether weight is lost on the combination of bike and rider or the bike itself. Putting aside matters such as that a person with a fair bit of fat of them will tend to have some corresponding extra muscle, is shaving a couple of pounds from a bike any better than just losing a bit of one's own weight?
  I've always assumed that a pot-bellied cyclist who spends £80 on a titanium bottle cage versus a steel one or whatever would get the same benefit by shifting a teeny bit of his own weight. Is this principle correct, or is weight on the bicycle more of an issue than weight on the rider?

• Neat or crazy?

  in General • 15 years, 12 months

  

  Track hubs generally come with solid axles and track nuts. This is because most velodromes have rules requiring this type of wheel attachment. As a result, it is widely believed that quick-release axles are not suitable for fixed-gear use. This is false!
  It is my belief that the velodrome rule dates back to longbefore the invention of the quick-release, when the choices werestandard nuts or wing nuts. The protruding "wings" of wing nuts mightconstitute a hazard in a crash, and I believe that's why the rule wasinstituted. Since quick-release skewers don't have any sharpprojections, that becomes a non-issue in practice.
  If you are going to use a quick release with a fixed gear, you should make sure to use a good quality enclosed-cam skewer.

  **EDIT: What **eeehhhh said(ish).

  So does this mean that, in the thread about pitlock skewers, remarks that you oughtn't to use such a skewer on your back wheel are wrong? I've been wanting to put pitlocks on my front wheel and seatpost and would ideally put one on the back wheel, too, not least because the triple set of pitlocks is about the same as getting a seat and front wheel one.

  PS: Hippy, re the Superflash, again: they very handily come with two mounting brackets, one of which will fit nicely on rear forks etc, which is rather better than similar Cateye etc models...

• LCC magazine back issues

  in General • 15 years, 12 months

  

  Not certain that I want to apply for it [the pay's not great] but I haven't seen much of the mag so might be interested, depending what it's like.

• LCC magazine back issues

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• LCC magazine back issues

  in General • 15 years, 12 months

  

  Ah, wow! Might I be able to borrow them? Can come to wherever in London over next few days and offer beer by way of thanks.

• LCC magazine back issues

  in General • 15 years, 12 months

  

  they don't have it in .pdf then?

  They've got an article or two from the past few issues available as pdf, but no. Unless I'm not looking properly, and I think I am.

• LCC magazine back issues

  in General • 15 years, 12 months

  

  Does anybody have back issues of the London Cyclist that I could borrow?
  I'm trying to get hold of copies of about the past half dozen or dozen past issues. Or further back if possible.
  I've phoned the LCC, which sells back issues, but they only have them going back the past three issues. [Plus a loan, rather than sale, of them would be cheaper of course...].
  I would take great care of them and have them back with you within a week or two.
  Thanks a lot for any help.

• How can you skid / How to do skids / skidding

  in General • 16 years

  

  They are super bright but how long do the batts last compared to the normal Smart light (which I have).

  Loads of peeps east could help with fitting cogs. Go to East drinks. Cogs can be found Tour de Ville, online, Condor, BLB, etc

  Cheers. Battery life on the Superflash claims to be 190 hours on flash mode and 30 hours on constant. No idea how accurate that is, though.

• How can you skid / How to do skids / skidding

  in General • 16 years

  

  Thanks for all the replies.
  Yep, I ended up getting a front brake instead of rear.
  I don't know what the current cog is but, yep, I think I'll go and get a 48x19 fitted on the other side. Where would be the cheapest place to buy and fit it in London (central or east-ish), I wonder?

  Thanks again for all remarks. I do realise that there's no better solution than experience etc and that these things take time. I've been browsing past threads, too.

  Rather than just be a parasite with questions, I might as well add on an unconnected note that the Smart Superflash is awesome. I've a Dinotte rear light [which is unbelievably bright] but the Superflash is very, very impressive and given that it's about a sixth of the price is in my limited experience well worth getting. I don't understand why some people eschew having lights, but however, that's something for another thread I guess....

• How can you skid / How to do skids / skidding

  in General • 16 years

  

  Front brake and feet attached to pedals ffs.

  Now use the search button up the top for fun words like "skid" "stopping" "skip" "brakes" and read the results.

  Ok, I'll spend some more time browsing. But it appears that 95% of the threads are dominated by discussions of whether it's sensible to forgo a brake for aesthetics or which bit of a tyre gets worn down by stopping.
  But, indeed, I should spend some more time looking around.