I think I finally got the handlebars to stop moving!
It was pretty hair raising on the way home last night. I tightened the bolt up before I left work, but it continued to tilt forward every time I braked hard. When I got to the traffic lights outside Mcvities in Levenshulme, I couldn't reach the brakes anymore, so figured it was probably time to get off and re-adjust. :P I tightened it as hard as I could, and it seeeeems to have done the trick!
A couple more things that I've found, now that I've cycled it to and fro a bit more:
The pedals weren't designed with flatfooted people in mind.
My feet seem to be wider than average, meaning that I either have to wear wide fitting shoes, or wear one size larger than needed. I trip over myself when I'm wearing large shoes, so my footwear of choice are nice wide skate shoes! That was fine on the MTB, but the pedals on the road bike are much narrower, and curve upwards on the outside. I'm actually finding it more comfortable to pedal with the pedals upside-down. :s Time to investigate an alternative..
Something weird is going on with the back wheel.
I noticed something when I was unlocking my bike after work; the rear tyre looks closer to the left seat stay. I can only think of two possible causes for this: badly aligned stays, or a badly dished wheel
Before I'd decided to go the singlespeed route, I'd re-spaced the stays from 126mm to 130mm, in order to allow it to take a more modern hub and freewheel. I'd used the Sheldon Brown cold setting method of a plank of wood and a chair, and it had gone well - one adjustment to each side, with no mucking about. I used his string method for checking alignment, and it looked perfect!
But the wheel looks to be something like 5mm closer to the left seat stay, so maybe it wasn't as perfect as I thought. It doesn't make sense, though.. I pulled each stay out by 2mm, and measured it each time to make sure I hadn't gone too far. To make it like it currently is, I'd have had to have pulled only one side out by 4mm. I suppose it could have been badly aligned before I got to it.
The other possible cause is the wheel itself. It was cheap, so it may have been built badly. Maybe they got the dishing wrong, and the rim isn't centered. I'm not sure how to test that.. maybe put the wheel into the front fork.
Other than that, it's been good! The cycle home last night went well, and I even managed a personal record on a Strava segment, although that may have had more to do with lucky traffic lights. I still think I could possibly switch to a 16 tooth freewheel, as I hardly stood up on the way home, and I felt that I could do with more of a gain on the way into work this morning. However, when I did stand up, my steering went to pot, so I think I need to get used to the new bike before I switch.
I also nearly got squished by a red light jumping HGV this morning. I was on the A6, coming up to the traffic lights on the exit from Longsight, at the junction with the A6010. The lights went to green just as I got to the start of the ASL box, so I kept going. I glanced right to check the state of the cars who were still hustling for a lane position from the previous direction, and was extremely surprised to see an HGV jump the lights at that exact moment. This wasn't an amber jump, or a milisecond jump.. this idiot jumped the light at least 5 seconds after they'd changed to full red! If I hadn't looked right, I'd be dead right now, or at least lying comatose in a hospital bed. I braked in time, despite my crappy brakes, and managed to call the driver all sorts of names as he passed, and even managed one of the more universally recognised hand signals (seriously - who remembers the signals that're in the highway code?). What an anus.
That's the first really bad moment I've had while cycling. I can usually second-guess someone who's intending to turn across me or do something stupid, but it's the nutjobs that I don't see coming that scare me. The risks that people take to get somewhere a few minutes earlier never cease to amaze me, although I suppose cycling is that in a nutshell. I get to work much quicker on a bicycle, but the journey is riskier.
Showing posts with label Manchester. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Manchester. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Monday, October 22, 2012
It lives!
I got the new inner tube fitted on Saturday. The old tube had split next to the valve. It wasn't a pinch, so either I over-filled it or it was a manufacturers fault. Tubes aren't too expensive, so I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. Even though the new tube is a really cheap Raleigh tube, it seems better than the old Vittoria one. It supposedly has the same dimensions, but it's not so tight to the rim, making it a lot easier to fit.
I decided to take the bike to the end of the street and back, to see if anything needed adjusting. The first adjustment was to tighten the nuts on the rear wheel, as I'm pretty sure they're not supposed to move forward in the dropouts upon pedalling. :P The second adjustment was to the cotter pins, which I hadn't had an opportunity to hammer in, due to a sleeping toddler. I'd brought a hammer along for just such an occasion, although I hadn't expected the pedals to go so far out of alignment. Pedalling with the pedals at 12:20 was a very strange sensation!
Something else that hadn't felt right were the handlebars, but the distance wasn't enough to get a good feel for what was right. I made that adjustment this morning, on my journey to work. I haven't ridden a racer in years, so I couldn't remember how the bars were supposed to be set up. I'd put them on so that the bottom of the bars were horizontal, and the top of the bar was at an angle. That wasn't right - I couldn't reach the brakes at all, so braking required going into the racing position. That's not too condusive to rapid stops!
With the bars in the correct position, I continued on my journey, taking it quite slow just in case something fell off or broke. oh, and also because cycling felt WEIRD! I've been used to a mountain bike for years now; big handlebars, big tyres, front suspension, and quite a high perspective. Now I've got narrow handlebars, tiny tyres, no suspension, and I'm closer to the road. I could feel every little bump, and I didn't feel very stable at all! I guess it must be like driving a racing car after having gotten used to the comfort of a normal car.
As I still wasn't sure if I'd tightened the cotter pins enough (the drive side pin looks too far out to be properly seated), or if the chain would hold out, I originally intended to get off the bike for the one and only big hill on the journey; a valley coming out of Stockport on the A6. In practising for singlespeed, I'd been sticking to 6th gear on my MTB, and going up the hill usually meant standing up on the pedals, which I thought might be a bit too much of a risk for a relatively un-tested bike. But I don't like stopping if I don't have to.. and there was a geared road bike ahead of me, with a lycra-clad rider, and the oval tubes and ludicrous paintwork of a bike that must've cost at least twice as much as my bike.. a bike that I was gaining on at quite some speed, even though the rider was really going for it..
So I didn't get off and walk. I pedalled, surprised at how easy it was. Still wary of putting too much power down, I breezed past the roadie so quickly and easily, I thought that maybe he was having bike issues! He didn't look like he wasn't trying.. it must've been horrible to be passed by a guy on a 35 year old bike, with brakes at two different positions (the brake levers still need a bit of adjustment, it seems), wearing massive baggy shorts and a huge rucksack with an adjustable wrench and a hammer poking out of it. Maybe this is the magic of singlespeeds? Maybe he was just a really crap rider? I also overtook a singlespeeder later on, but I didn't count him because he looked like he was in some sort of work clothes, and he only had one brake, despite not riding a fixed, as far as I could tell (I'm sure I saw him coasting).
All in all, the first ride on my singlespeed was pretty good! The ride feels weird in a few ways, though.. the bike feels too small, even though my leg is fully extended when the pedal is at it's lowest point. The brake levers also seem to be in a weird position, which I think might be due to the handlebar adjustment - it's made them higher up the curve than before. That might also be the cause of the short feeling, come to think of it. Last of all, the gearing might be wrong. It's currently 48/18, which should be a 5.2 gain ratio, but I think I might need a higher ratio - that uphill was too easy, and I ran out of revs going down the hill. I'll wait for a headwind and see how it goes. It could turn out to be a blessing!
I decided to take the bike to the end of the street and back, to see if anything needed adjusting. The first adjustment was to tighten the nuts on the rear wheel, as I'm pretty sure they're not supposed to move forward in the dropouts upon pedalling. :P The second adjustment was to the cotter pins, which I hadn't had an opportunity to hammer in, due to a sleeping toddler. I'd brought a hammer along for just such an occasion, although I hadn't expected the pedals to go so far out of alignment. Pedalling with the pedals at 12:20 was a very strange sensation!
Something else that hadn't felt right were the handlebars, but the distance wasn't enough to get a good feel for what was right. I made that adjustment this morning, on my journey to work. I haven't ridden a racer in years, so I couldn't remember how the bars were supposed to be set up. I'd put them on so that the bottom of the bars were horizontal, and the top of the bar was at an angle. That wasn't right - I couldn't reach the brakes at all, so braking required going into the racing position. That's not too condusive to rapid stops!
With the bars in the correct position, I continued on my journey, taking it quite slow just in case something fell off or broke. oh, and also because cycling felt WEIRD! I've been used to a mountain bike for years now; big handlebars, big tyres, front suspension, and quite a high perspective. Now I've got narrow handlebars, tiny tyres, no suspension, and I'm closer to the road. I could feel every little bump, and I didn't feel very stable at all! I guess it must be like driving a racing car after having gotten used to the comfort of a normal car.
As I still wasn't sure if I'd tightened the cotter pins enough (the drive side pin looks too far out to be properly seated), or if the chain would hold out, I originally intended to get off the bike for the one and only big hill on the journey; a valley coming out of Stockport on the A6. In practising for singlespeed, I'd been sticking to 6th gear on my MTB, and going up the hill usually meant standing up on the pedals, which I thought might be a bit too much of a risk for a relatively un-tested bike. But I don't like stopping if I don't have to.. and there was a geared road bike ahead of me, with a lycra-clad rider, and the oval tubes and ludicrous paintwork of a bike that must've cost at least twice as much as my bike.. a bike that I was gaining on at quite some speed, even though the rider was really going for it..
So I didn't get off and walk. I pedalled, surprised at how easy it was. Still wary of putting too much power down, I breezed past the roadie so quickly and easily, I thought that maybe he was having bike issues! He didn't look like he wasn't trying.. it must've been horrible to be passed by a guy on a 35 year old bike, with brakes at two different positions (the brake levers still need a bit of adjustment, it seems), wearing massive baggy shorts and a huge rucksack with an adjustable wrench and a hammer poking out of it. Maybe this is the magic of singlespeeds? Maybe he was just a really crap rider? I also overtook a singlespeeder later on, but I didn't count him because he looked like he was in some sort of work clothes, and he only had one brake, despite not riding a fixed, as far as I could tell (I'm sure I saw him coasting).
All in all, the first ride on my singlespeed was pretty good! The ride feels weird in a few ways, though.. the bike feels too small, even though my leg is fully extended when the pedal is at it's lowest point. The brake levers also seem to be in a weird position, which I think might be due to the handlebar adjustment - it's made them higher up the curve than before. That might also be the cause of the short feeling, come to think of it. Last of all, the gearing might be wrong. It's currently 48/18, which should be a 5.2 gain ratio, but I think I might need a higher ratio - that uphill was too easy, and I ran out of revs going down the hill. I'll wait for a headwind and see how it goes. It could turn out to be a blessing!
Monday, October 15, 2012
Middle-aged men on hybrids
There was one thing that bugged me when I started cycle commuting properly - middle-aged men on hybrids!
There'd always be a few of them on each commute.. men in their 40s/50s, on ratty-looking hybrids, often with a pannier, and usually in their work clothes. Generally, they're just obstacles to get around, but every now and again there'd be one who I couldn't catch, or worse - one that overtook me!
For me, hybrids will always be a thing to be ridiculed, no matter how sensible they are. It's just something that's been programmed into me. How were these old dudes going so fast? What did I need to do to avoid the shame?
I kinda knew the answer already. My knobbly tyres weren't really designed with tarmac in mind, and I could often feel my knackered suspension bouncing against me when hitting potholes. To level the playing field, I had to either make my mountain bike more like a hybrid, or try something else.
The upgrade route meant replacing the front fork with something fixed, and getting thinner, knobble-less tyres. I wondered if there were gears more suited to road use. I'm still not sure if there are. The cost would've been just over £100. That seemed kinda pricey - you can get whole bikes for that!
And so, I visited ebay. But not looking for mountain bikes - I had one of those. And not looking for hybrids, either - I'd rather die! I was looking for racers. The last time I bought a racer was in 1995-ish, for about £20. I didn't think prices would've increased much over the years. Racers from the 70s are even older now, so they're probably even cheaper now, right?
Wrong!
'Vintage' racers can be quite pricey. Through a combination of inflation, trends, and increasing rarity, racers rarely sell for less than £50, and good examples can fetch well over £100. That wasn't as cheap as I was expecting! I didn't really want to spend more than £80 on one, as it was supposed to be a cheap experiment, so I tried bidding for one that was in that price range - a 1980 Carlton Kermesse. I looked it up.. a nice bike, apparently! Stuck on a max bid, aaaaand.. lost. It went for about £140 in the end, I think. That seemed crazy! Enough of that, I thought. I'll have to order the fork and tyres when I get to work the next day.
But something happened on the way to work. I was stopped at some traffic lights in Longsight, and a guy on a singlespeed conversion pulled up slightly ahead of me. I don't see many racers on my commute - the ones I usually see are new bikes, with ludicrous logos all over them, ridden by people clad entirely in lycra. The people who rode them often seemed to ride like the road belonged to no-one but them, like the cycling equivalent of BMW drivers. I didn't want to join that crowd.
But this was different.. it was a guy dressed in baggy shorts and a tshirt, and his bike had no logos that I could see. It was painted metallic green, and had a fair bit of chrome. It had old-style tubing and old-style wheels. No deep rims, no oval tubes.. it looked amazing! Then I looked down at my own bike. Fat silver tubes, black wheels, big old handlebar.. not very elegant. Not very elegant at all.. Then I pondered what I'd be doing to it.. it'd be a mountain bike that was trying to be a hybrid. A wannabe hybrid?
To quote Darth Vader; "Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"
So, back to the racer idea! With renewed purpose, I expanded the distance I was willing to travel, and increased the amount that I was willing to bid. And I won an auction.
There'd always be a few of them on each commute.. men in their 40s/50s, on ratty-looking hybrids, often with a pannier, and usually in their work clothes. Generally, they're just obstacles to get around, but every now and again there'd be one who I couldn't catch, or worse - one that overtook me!
For me, hybrids will always be a thing to be ridiculed, no matter how sensible they are. It's just something that's been programmed into me. How were these old dudes going so fast? What did I need to do to avoid the shame?
I kinda knew the answer already. My knobbly tyres weren't really designed with tarmac in mind, and I could often feel my knackered suspension bouncing against me when hitting potholes. To level the playing field, I had to either make my mountain bike more like a hybrid, or try something else.
The upgrade route meant replacing the front fork with something fixed, and getting thinner, knobble-less tyres. I wondered if there were gears more suited to road use. I'm still not sure if there are. The cost would've been just over £100. That seemed kinda pricey - you can get whole bikes for that!
And so, I visited ebay. But not looking for mountain bikes - I had one of those. And not looking for hybrids, either - I'd rather die! I was looking for racers. The last time I bought a racer was in 1995-ish, for about £20. I didn't think prices would've increased much over the years. Racers from the 70s are even older now, so they're probably even cheaper now, right?
Wrong!
'Vintage' racers can be quite pricey. Through a combination of inflation, trends, and increasing rarity, racers rarely sell for less than £50, and good examples can fetch well over £100. That wasn't as cheap as I was expecting! I didn't really want to spend more than £80 on one, as it was supposed to be a cheap experiment, so I tried bidding for one that was in that price range - a 1980 Carlton Kermesse. I looked it up.. a nice bike, apparently! Stuck on a max bid, aaaaand.. lost. It went for about £140 in the end, I think. That seemed crazy! Enough of that, I thought. I'll have to order the fork and tyres when I get to work the next day.
But something happened on the way to work. I was stopped at some traffic lights in Longsight, and a guy on a singlespeed conversion pulled up slightly ahead of me. I don't see many racers on my commute - the ones I usually see are new bikes, with ludicrous logos all over them, ridden by people clad entirely in lycra. The people who rode them often seemed to ride like the road belonged to no-one but them, like the cycling equivalent of BMW drivers. I didn't want to join that crowd.
But this was different.. it was a guy dressed in baggy shorts and a tshirt, and his bike had no logos that I could see. It was painted metallic green, and had a fair bit of chrome. It had old-style tubing and old-style wheels. No deep rims, no oval tubes.. it looked amazing! Then I looked down at my own bike. Fat silver tubes, black wheels, big old handlebar.. not very elegant. Not very elegant at all.. Then I pondered what I'd be doing to it.. it'd be a mountain bike that was trying to be a hybrid. A wannabe hybrid?
To quote Darth Vader; "Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"
So, back to the racer idea! With renewed purpose, I expanded the distance I was willing to travel, and increased the amount that I was willing to bid. And I won an auction.
Almost now (Part 2)
So, yeah.. the A34, in winter. Not fun! And then we had a child, and the sleep deprivation added to the not fun-ness of it all, so I went back to getting the train. On top of that, we moved to Stockport (Hazel Grove, to be precise), increasing the distance to work to 8.5 miles.
At the time, 8.5 miles seemed too far to commute on a daily basis. At first, I thought that I could cycle halfway to save train fares, but it didn't save much money doing that. I stuck to getting the train.
Until, one day, I changed my bank details at work, so my pay would go into our joint account. I got one of the digits wrong. My pay went AWOL! In the face of skintness, I had to cycle to work - we couldn't afford the £100 that it would've cost to get the train.
That was three months ago. My pay was rescued, but I've kept on cycling! Turns out, 8.5 miles isn't too far, and currently the commute is more fun than the old one. It's not quite winter yet, though, so there's still a chance that I'll surrender and get the train.
At the time, 8.5 miles seemed too far to commute on a daily basis. At first, I thought that I could cycle halfway to save train fares, but it didn't save much money doing that. I stuck to getting the train.
Until, one day, I changed my bank details at work, so my pay would go into our joint account. I got one of the digits wrong. My pay went AWOL! In the face of skintness, I had to cycle to work - we couldn't afford the £100 that it would've cost to get the train.
That was three months ago. My pay was rescued, but I've kept on cycling! Turns out, 8.5 miles isn't too far, and currently the commute is more fun than the old one. It's not quite winter yet, though, so there's still a chance that I'll surrender and get the train.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Almost now (part 1)
So.. how's the new era going, you might ask, if you were reading..
s'alright.
[end blog]
ah - but there's more to it than that!
I might not be cycling for fun anymore, exactly, but I'm cycling more than I ever did before, because I'm now a cycle commuter!
When I first moved to Manchester, we lived in a rented house in Levenshulme. Work was in Manchester city centre, about 3.5 miles away. Driving would've been insane, as the roads are very busy and I'd have to pay for parking, so that was out of the question. Other options were bus, train, or bike.
Buses in Manchester confuse me. A lot of things up here are cheaper than down south. Buses aren't one of those things. They're insanely expensive, very slow, usually crowded, and turn up when they feel like it. The main bus into town is the 192. They're supposed to turn up every 10 minutes, but this usually translates to 3 buses turning up at the same time, every 30 minutes.
The trains were a much better bet - they were cheap, fast, and turned up every 20 minutes or so. On top of that, the train station was less than a 5 minute walk from home - closer than the bus stop! They were sometimes cancelled, but not often enough to put me off. I took to trains without giving my bike much thought, mainly due to it having a gear changing issue.
But after a few months I realised I wasn't getting much exercise, and I'd put on a stone in weight, so I gave cycling a go. The ride into work was about 3.5 miles, and was mostly down the A34. It took exactly 25 minutes.
It was good, for a while, but the A34 is not in good nick. When the rains came in, and the darkness came earlier, the trips got more and more dangerous.
oh, nadgers - it's hometime! I'll have to continue this at a later date. Don't worry - the stories will get better! I'm just rushing through the early days.
bye!
s'alright.
[end blog]
ah - but there's more to it than that!
I might not be cycling for fun anymore, exactly, but I'm cycling more than I ever did before, because I'm now a cycle commuter!
When I first moved to Manchester, we lived in a rented house in Levenshulme. Work was in Manchester city centre, about 3.5 miles away. Driving would've been insane, as the roads are very busy and I'd have to pay for parking, so that was out of the question. Other options were bus, train, or bike.
Buses in Manchester confuse me. A lot of things up here are cheaper than down south. Buses aren't one of those things. They're insanely expensive, very slow, usually crowded, and turn up when they feel like it. The main bus into town is the 192. They're supposed to turn up every 10 minutes, but this usually translates to 3 buses turning up at the same time, every 30 minutes.
The trains were a much better bet - they were cheap, fast, and turned up every 20 minutes or so. On top of that, the train station was less than a 5 minute walk from home - closer than the bus stop! They were sometimes cancelled, but not often enough to put me off. I took to trains without giving my bike much thought, mainly due to it having a gear changing issue.
But after a few months I realised I wasn't getting much exercise, and I'd put on a stone in weight, so I gave cycling a go. The ride into work was about 3.5 miles, and was mostly down the A34. It took exactly 25 minutes.
It was good, for a while, but the A34 is not in good nick. When the rains came in, and the darkness came earlier, the trips got more and more dangerous.
oh, nadgers - it's hometime! I'll have to continue this at a later date. Don't worry - the stories will get better! I'm just rushing through the early days.
bye!
Then
Lots of things have changed in the 3 years since I lived in Southampton. I think some background is needed!
As a bachelor in Southampton, I was mainly a leisure cyclist. I dabbled in semi-commuting for a while, taking the train to Salisbury, and then cycling the remaining 3 miles to work, but getting the bike on the train was a mixed affair. If there was no space for the bike in the bike cupboard things that were on the train, I was often told to get off. When this started happening several times a week, I stopped trying.
I regularly went for rides into the New Forest, however, and I also strapped my bike to the back of my Nissan Micra so that I could drive to Dorchester and then cycle around bits of Dorset with my old friend James. Nothing competitive - just seeing the sights, and dropping into the odd pub or three. :)
I forgot to mention the bike involved in all of this - a Specialized Hardrock XC, which I bought new in 2004. I bought it from Hargoves cycles, and I remember there being two Hardrock models for the same price - a fat tubed black model, and a thinner tubed brushed silver model. I went for silver! It's served me well on singletrack and dual carriageway alike, and is somehow still going with most of the original components!
But then, one day, I met a girl I liked. Now I'm living in Stockport with her, in our own house, with a 2 year old boy and a grumpy cat. My friend James moved to New Zealand, then moved to Spain, and now I'm not sure where he is. Lima, possibly. Who knows! I don't have the time to bimble around the countryside anymore.. weekends are for the family! My son is too young to cycle, and my partner just plain hates cycling, so I don't cycle with them.
The end of an era, for sure. But it's also the start of a new one!
As a bachelor in Southampton, I was mainly a leisure cyclist. I dabbled in semi-commuting for a while, taking the train to Salisbury, and then cycling the remaining 3 miles to work, but getting the bike on the train was a mixed affair. If there was no space for the bike in the bike cupboard things that were on the train, I was often told to get off. When this started happening several times a week, I stopped trying.
I regularly went for rides into the New Forest, however, and I also strapped my bike to the back of my Nissan Micra so that I could drive to Dorchester and then cycle around bits of Dorset with my old friend James. Nothing competitive - just seeing the sights, and dropping into the odd pub or three. :)
I forgot to mention the bike involved in all of this - a Specialized Hardrock XC, which I bought new in 2004. I bought it from Hargoves cycles, and I remember there being two Hardrock models for the same price - a fat tubed black model, and a thinner tubed brushed silver model. I went for silver! It's served me well on singletrack and dual carriageway alike, and is somehow still going with most of the original components!
But then, one day, I met a girl I liked. Now I'm living in Stockport with her, in our own house, with a 2 year old boy and a grumpy cat. My friend James moved to New Zealand, then moved to Spain, and now I'm not sure where he is. Lima, possibly. Who knows! I don't have the time to bimble around the countryside anymore.. weekends are for the family! My son is too young to cycle, and my partner just plain hates cycling, so I don't cycle with them.
The end of an era, for sure. But it's also the start of a new one!
An Introduction
Right.. I guess I'd better explain myself, eh? For one thing; why am I a softy?
Well, I'm not. Not exactly. I needed a blog name, and I'm a southerner (lived in Southampton for 35 years) who's been living in Manchester for nearly 3 years. You know how northerners see southerners.. we're all soft! So here I am - a softy on a bike. :)
Why am I writing a blog? Well.. new experiences, new bikes, new routes, and probably a few scrapes!
That's the intro done. Time to write a proper blog post...
Well, I'm not. Not exactly. I needed a blog name, and I'm a southerner (lived in Southampton for 35 years) who's been living in Manchester for nearly 3 years. You know how northerners see southerners.. we're all soft! So here I am - a softy on a bike. :)
Why am I writing a blog? Well.. new experiences, new bikes, new routes, and probably a few scrapes!
That's the intro done. Time to write a proper blog post...
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