Search results for:

IMO there's no problem with it whatsoever as a road bike frame will be very well suited to riding on the road. Unless you Dremel off all the braze-ons and powdercoat it I can't see why anyone should get pissy about it. It's not like there's a shortage of 80s steel road frames - you're hardly depriving anyone who wants to do the vintage racer thing.

Well, I know "normal" cross levers are short pull, for caliper/cantilever brakes, and then you get some that are long pull for V-brakes like the Paul Love Lever. I was just wondering if the changes to the Shimano caliper brakes would cause problems with a normal short-pull cross lever.

On my everyday fixed bike I have a Shimano R650 with a Tektro RL726 alone (no drop levers) and it works a treat - loads of stopping power. I'm planning a nicer project bike and I'd been thinking of using an Ultegra 6700 or DA 7900 front brake, which is when I saw this in the description:

"Dual-pivot caliper brake with super SLR design for quick linear response, increased rigidity and improved braking power and must be used in conjunction with 7900 or 6700 STIs for correct leverage ratio."

And that's what got me wondering. I know they've changed the amount of cable the new shifters pull (to make little ring to big ring shifts easier), and at the same time they've changed the lever pivot to make the brakes easier to use on the hoods, so I guess the latter change might have something to do with it. There's probably not going to be much in it, is there?

I might go for a 6600 SL anyway, depending on what colour the bike ends up...

Has anyone got any experience of running a front short-drop (regular drop?) 2010 Shimano road brake, e.g. an Ultegra or Dura-Ace brake, with a cross lever? I note that they've changed the cable pull ratio on the new versions and that they specify certain matching STI levers to work.

Is that irrelevant with cross levers (e.g. Tektro or Paul) - is it just that you shouldn't use mismatching STI lever models?

I like to refer to that as the "Equestrian Position".

Rain jacket just arrived (& in time for the forecast deluge this afternoon), it looks v nice.... but reassuringly expensive

How was it? Only had a windbreaker on this evening so got fairly wet. Inevitably spent most of the commute wishing I had the pricey Rain Jacket goodness. So dry... so... nice.

More than one "fixie" this evening being walked by people under umbrellas. It wasn't even raining that hard, you wimps.

Yeah, I'm out (due to work, not rain). Next time...

I might be able to. How late do people hang around?

I hear rumours they are going to reissue the Laser also?

Is Dalston ready for it?

The press release was absolutely toe-curling. "The kids are alright!"

I was kinda hoping the Spurstowe had the hipster monopoly.
Only one way to find out.

I lived on Graham Road for a bit and when I moved there the Spurstowe was grim as. Grubby, and empty. Really uncomfortably quiet. We popped in for a drink the day we moved in and it was a classic two-blokes-and-a-dog-turning-and-staring-at-you situation.

When they refurbed it I was quite glad because it was somewhere to get a Sunday roast. Then because of that it went all yummy-mummy until it got so bad they had to ban pushchairs (you literally couldn't walk). And then the service got really terrible, and the prices went up, and now I think the Arthur down the road has kind of taken over the gastropub market around there.

So the hipsters are welcome to it...

Its got lots of haircuts, and the beers are at hipster prices.

It's actually marginally less hipster than it used to be thanks to the Spurstowe around the corner somehow becoming a hipster magnet. I am very happy about this fact.

The PG also has a very good, if expensive, jukebox (I believe it is/was "curated" by Liela Moss of The Duke Spirit), an aged pub cat and a healthy number of long-time locals.

I really ought to come to this one of these days.

A good example would be Feather Cycles who slowly build his reputation by building bicycles for friends, friends spread words, more people got interested, more bike got bike (abiet experimenting), and now he's pretty known enough to the point that he make decent frame.

Holy flip, that grey 853 frame is a beauty.

Rapha jackets don't work on that principle though - The surface works on the principle that rain is too common to fall on it.

Hah. Repped.

I've been using the stowaway for carrying in case of the odd shower, but wanted something that will keep you dry - as even the softshell absorbs a lot of water (I have washed both with water repellent/gore washing additive type stuff).

So what would be better than the rain jacket?

Nah, I think the rain jacket's the one then, definitely. There's like two different types of fabric on the inner, the panels at the side (under the arms) are obviously meant to be more breathable than the front and back panels and sleeves.

I just found the cut to be not as nice as the stowaway but that's a personal thing - I was trying it on in fat bastard size and the arms were too long and baggy for me. Might be fine in a normal medium/large size.

In other news, I accidentally invented the "budget Rapha" look this morning. White long-sleeve Uniqlo base layer with black Mavic jersey over the top, black cap, black DHB shorts and white Uniqlo socks with black stripe at the top - I was a white armband and some pink trim away from a full house, and all at a fraction of the price.

Padding can get to fuck. Just wear lycra.

Oh yeah. Suits me fine. I just meant that might put some people off in a shop.

... or because it's a bit ugly and has practically zero padding? ;)

Yeah, it's a bit leaner around the thighs as well, which I like.

coming from someone with the username Regal, I'm not surprised you said that.

You got me there.

I have that same Regale / Regal-e / REGALe / whatever on my road bike and I love it. For me it's even better than the standard Regal, irrespective of the weight weenie gram-saving.

burn it with fire!!

Save the saddle first though.

If it were a 6' rugby player built like a brick shit house would you have belted him?

Not that I disagree with what you're saying, but it's kinda easy to turn around and belt a kid, but that perhaps isn't the right reaction.

Probably, and regretted it afterwards no doubt. I can't say for sure how I would have reacted in the heat of the moment. I just meant that that sort of disrespect towards women really makes my blood boil in a way few other things do.

Some depressing reactions on this thread, especially early on before people felt which direction the wind was blowing in and shifted accordingly.

If anyone doubts the extent of this sort of reprehensible crap, read the comments here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/20/street-harassment#start-of-comments

Anecdotally at least, it's vastly common. And in my experience, being on a bike only increases it. Probably because one is more vulnerable on a bike, and therefore easier game; perhaps because of the unhappy confluence between anti-cyclist feeling and the misogyny documented here; perhaps because you are visibly engaged in physical activity and that seems to invite the gaze even more.

It makes me absolutely furious, not least because, by its very nature, it won't happen when I'm with my girlfriend but when she's on her own.

Although having said that, I was with my girlfriend in Stratford station several years ago and one young kid in a group grabbed her crotch as they went past on the steps. I didn't see it happen and my girlfriend only told me it had happened later on. I asked why she didn't say anything when it happened and she said she was just so shocked she was dumbstruck. I hate violence but in honesty I would have absolutely belted the kid if I'd known.

I did a little lol at the face on the Saronni.

Has anyone on here bought the rain jacket??? They do look nice....but pricey mind

(Slow reply...) Personally, I liked the cut and styling of the cheaper Stowaway more than the rain jacket, but obviously it's not as waterproof. If you would be carrying it in case of the odd shower rather than really trying to stay dry it might be worth checking out.

100% perfect nodder spot this morning - pedalling hard on a squeaky old mountain bike, fluoro vest and £5 helmet, running a (very) red light on the Euston Road that I stopped at. I thought, "you're brave" and sure enough, two seconds later in the middle of the box junction he had a motorbike and a van screaming past either side of him, merrily honking their horns. Pretty sure he shat himself.

new?

Sorry, bit confusing. It was in reply to Pony, I meant the previous picture is the new version.