So..... cycling

[sara]

I ride to and from work at least 2 or 3 times a week (although am in a lazy patch this week and the weather hasn't convinced me it's worth the risk... rain is fine, strong winds BAD... scared of being blown under big heavy wheels).

It's around 8 miles each way, fairly undulating (i.e. ruddy great hill in the middle), and pretty good exercise.

Now it's dark out, I'm lit up to the eyeballs - 3 rear red lights (plus reflector), two forward lights (..plus reflector), hivis jacket, and lots of very clever black tape stuff all over the bike which reflects white

Bad luck on the crash, I wear my helmet at all times on the commute, but often won't bother when nipping into town to shop or pub...

[Treefrog]

I started wearing a cycle helmet full time for a couple of reasons:
1: A mate pointed out that at the speeds you tend to be travelling on a pushbike, a helmet makes a lot of sense due to less impact, etc from the lower speeds.
2: I was teaching the kids to ride and couldn't really tell them that they must wear helmets if I didn't wear one.

You don't say if your route is all lit or if there's any unlit sections sara. I've recently been using a single 1W LED front light on unlit roads and cycle paths and the light from it is superb! Worth considering if seeing rather than being seen is a priority at any point.

[sara]

It's mostly lit by street lights, so no problem there really - I just try to be as well seen as possible!

On another lazy week as I did one thigh in on Sunday after a long dance class. Oops. Next week maybe... Think it might be time to crack out the winter tights though, brrrrr.

[Flibster]

I'm in the process of designing a bike. I can't use upright ones as it causes far too much pain, and I can't afford to buy one, so I'm going to build a recliner.

It's not easy. Last vehicle I designed was a carbon fibre monocoque based modern triumph three wheeler... This is quite a bit different. Tempted to make it a shaft driven trike for the hell of it. The less chain the better and it won't fall over.

[Jonny69]

I'm about to crack out the old boneshaker again

Missed this thread first time round.

One of the bikes I scored on Freecycle is a Reynolds 531 framed racer and it's as light as a feather. It owes me all of about £35 for some handlebar wrap, pedals and a lick of paint but I'm too paranoid to leave it anywhere through fear of it being stolen so I never use it for regular journeys. So it won't be the one I use for getting from the station to work because I don't want to leave it at the station overnight and at weekends

So I might have to unchop my chopper for that duty and make something a little more er sensible that I can ride on the road.

A lad at work has some superb lights made by Blackburn which are very good value for money. Just got a MARS 3 rear light for £12.50 delivered and I'll probably buy a matching Voyager 3 front one from that range, since they have just superseded them and they are slashing the prices.

[Goose]

I'd hate to leave a bike at a station overnight. When I go cycling around the country, I lock my bike to my tent.

On the subject of lights, I recommend this light:
http://www.bestofferbuy.com/haiii-ss...t-p-27282.html

Yes, they take ages to arrive but they've beaten the £300+ bike lights my co-cyclists use, every time. They last around 3 hours, and are perfect in unlit areas. You can really use the light in the town though.

[Wryel]

Originally Posted by Goose

I'd hate to leave a bike at a station overnight. When I go cycling around the country, I lock my bike to my tent.

On the subject of lights, I recommend this light:
http://www.bestofferbuy.com/haiii-ss...t-p-27282.html

Yes, they take ages to arrive but they've beaten the £300+ bike lights my co-cyclists use, every time. They last around 3 hours, and are perfect in unlit areas. You can really use the light in the town though.

Nice, I paid £40 for some 10w Cateyes ages ago for night rides, technology has moved on somewhat!

Should be getting my new bike soon, insurance company have offered me a Giant hybrid but I don't like the look of it so I'm waiting to see if they'll accept £100 and give me a Specialized Allez 16 (I think). Won't be any time soon I can get a new mountain bike.....

[Treefrog]

Originally Posted by Flibster

I'm in the process of designing a bike. I can't use upright ones as it causes far too much pain, and I can't afford to buy one, so I'm going to build a recliner.

It's not easy. Last vehicle I designed was a carbon fibre monocoque based modern triumph three wheeler... This is quite a bit different. Tempted to make it a shaft driven trike for the hell of it. The less chain the better and it won't fall over.

Hmm, you may end up with something quite a bit heavier than anticipated there Si, due to the way they alter the tubing thickness and diameter in relation to the stress at any point in the frame. That's why carbon fibre is proving such an ideal material for recumbent frames, because they can tailor it as a single unit rather than a welded collection of tubes. Two wheels front or rear btw? Just wondering which is easier - a diff or two wheels steering

Originally Posted by Jonny69

One of the bikes I scored on Freecycle is a Reynolds 531 framed racer and it's as light as a feather. It owes me all of about £35 for some handlebar wrap, pedals and a lick of paint but I'm too paranoid to leave it anywhere through fear of it being stolen so I never use it for regular journeys. So it won't be the one I use for getting from the station to work because I don't want to leave it at the station overnight and at weekends

A lad at work has some superb lights made by Blackburn which are very good value for money. Just got a MARS 3 rear light for £12.50 delivered and I'll probably buy a matching Voyager 3 front one from that range, since they have just superseded them and they are slashing the prices.

Nice stuff, that 531
Buy an old cheap mountain bike with rigid forks, stick some V-brakes, cheap road tyres and a comfy quick-release saddle on it? Nothing will ever be totally idiot-proof but something like that is not going to attract any covetous glances while chained up at a railway station

I've been looking at higher powered LED lights recently, the 1W is fine almost everywhere but a bit more never hurts
I like the look of this but the price is way out of my league, no matter how tempting 5W/240 lumens is!
However, this is the business end of it and only needs a suitable power source wiring in, all bits available from Maplins for less than a tenner - including a 6V 4.5Ah sealed lead acid battery to make up a power pack which I can recharge from my standard 6V/12V car battery charger. Shining the 1W light onto a white painted surface from ~3' away is bright, but shining the 5W light onto the same surface from about 12' away totally eclipsed the patch of light thrown by the 1W light! It's that good!

I know I've mentioned Chain Reaction Cycles (aka Paddyland ) before and that is because I can wholeheartedly recommend them. Very good quality stock (ranges from "yes, it works", to "wow, this should be in the Tate Modern", free delivery in 24-48 hours usually, helpful staff and no problems with returns either personally or reported.
Internet shopping as it should be.

[Flibster]

Originally Posted by Treefrog

Hmm, you may end up with something quite a bit heavier than anticipated there Si, due to the way they alter the tubing thickness and diameter in relation to the stress at any point in the frame. That's why carbon fibre is proving such an ideal material for recumbent frames, because they can tailor it as a single unit rather than a welded collection of tubes. Two wheels front or rear btw? Just wondering which is easier - a diff or two wheels steering

Current design relies on my experience of monocoques - it's only in rough sketches and some fairly complex maths at the moment. Was leaning towards fibreglass and aluminium/paper honeycomb monocoque with 2 wheels at the front. Steering is very easy to do - essentially copy and bolt on front end from a gokart.

I could go with a tubular frame, but then I'd have to reply on my welding skills which are less than spectacular. Add to that welding aluminium... Well I'm useless at that. I can still use it as strengthening members though.

Carbon fibre would be perfect, but I can only do wet lay stuff here so it's barely better than fibreglass, but much prettier I suppose.

[Jonny69]

Originally Posted by Goose

On the subject of lights, I recommend this light:
http://www.bestofferbuy.com/haiii-ss...t-p-27282.html

Yes, they take ages to arrive but they've beaten the £300+ bike lights my co-cyclists use, every time. They last around 3 hours, and are perfect in unlit areas. You can really use the light in the town though.

They look pretty good for the money. I ended up going for a Fenix L2D and a lockblock to mount it on the handlebars. Not the cheapest option but it seemed to bridge the gap between cheaper end of the market plastic lights and the tougher more expensive metal ones, which is quite important to me as I'll bash it about I expect.

What does everyone use as a locking device? I have a thick braided lock thing with built in padlock that I got from the local motorbike shop. The only problem in my mind is I think you could eventually nibble through it with a pair of side cutters, so maybe I should consider something more solid.