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Cyclocross as all-year-round commuter bike advice - £1000
I am wanting to get a cyclocross bike as a commuter to deal with the shocking road surfaces and paths I go on during my short sub 10 mile commute. I had test ridden and decided upon the Evans Cycles' own brand Pinnacle Arkose Three, was already to take it there and then - they went to fit the mudguards (SKS full ones) and…
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Road pedals - clipping in issues!
Hi all I'm not new to clipless pedals as I've had SPDs on my hybrid bike for over a year now, and had them on my road bike until a couple of months ago when I decided to get "real" road bike pedals!! I invested in some Look Keo pedals and cleats, and was fine on the turbo with them, not an issue, clipping in felt easy and…
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Selling my entry level mountain bike - how much??
Hi all Bought a mountain bike in 2012 and don't really use it that much as used my hybrid more. I'm hoping to get a cyclocross in next month or so when my company launches its 2014 Cyclescheme. A cyclist colleague has expressed an interest in buying my mountain bike for his wife. It's a Norco Charger Forma 6.3 2012 model,…
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CO2 inflators
After my visit from the pssssssst fairy last night only 1 mile into my journey and the subsequent arseing about with a small pump trying to get the new tube up to a decent PSI (don't think I quite managed 100) pumping like an idiot for 5 mins...I have decided that perhaps it might be an idea to have a CO2 inflator instead…
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Entry level road pedals - Look vs Shimano SPD-SL
Hi all I currently use the 2 bolt cleat Shimano SPD system on my hybrid and road bike, but I'm looking to get proper road shoes and pedals for my road bike. Budget £100 for both. Done some research and had decided on the Look Keo Classic pedals, but then I did the dangerous thing of too much online research and ended up…
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Grand Depart of TdF 2014
Rob and I are looking at doing the Yorkshire Festival of Cycling to see the Grand Depart of the TdF - it's camping at Harewood House but looks pretty good and loads of activities. It passes through there 7 miles into Stage 1, but then they take you on led rides to other vantage points on both the Saturday and Sunday, and…
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Brake pads/blocks
Hi all I love my road bike, Giant Avail 1, that I got a few months ago...however the braking isn't solid enough for me. I want to know that when I'm going down a hill at 35mph and the traffic suddenly slows that I ain't flinging 175lb worth of person over the handlebars onto the car roof in front!! It had a service which…
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Bike fit?
Now I've got a road bike, I'd like to get a proper fit, had a couple of recommendations to go to Pedal Precision at the National Cycling Centre (Manchester Velodrome), and I'm stuck between 2 options... Enthusiast at £60 - GOOD BASIC FIT FOR SOMEONE JUST GETTING STARTED (which sounds like me) - 60-90mins. Includes; Initial…
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First road bike - women's specific
Hello all Well I'm finally taking the plunge into the world of road bikes - I love my hybrid but it's time to move onwards and upwards. However, I don't want a stiff ride, I'm looking for more of a comfort for long rides factor, so more a sportive bike than a racer - not carbon - but would like 105 components if possible.…
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UK based cyclists - Silverstone 24
Do any of the UK based cyclists fancy forming a relay team for this event ? it looks fantastic! http://www.thesilverstone24.com Cheers. Fran
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Garmin cadence sensor behaving oddly
Hi all I fitted a GSC10 cadence sensor on my bike a few weeks ago, to integrate with the Garmin Edge 800. All was working fine, but this morning it kept auto pausing and auto resuming every few seconds, so I disabled the auto pause. Then I noticed after 2 miles it was only showing I had gone 0.33 miles, I had assumed it…
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Velodrome
I'm doing a charity velodrome ride with some colleagues in May at the Manchester Velodrome, I'm really excited - wanted to try out on the track for ages. Any tips?!!
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Spin bike?
Hi, With the weather not being very co-operative at the moment I am doing most my workouts at home on the Wii, which is fine, but I'm missing cycling. I have started thinking about getting a spin bike at home, from what I've read it's closer to real cycling than a normal stationary bike. I don't want to get a trainer at…
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Spin bike ?
Hi, With the weather not being very co-operative at the moment I am doing most my workouts at home on the Wii, which is fine, but I'm missing cycling. I have started thinking about getting a spin bike at home, from what I've read it's closer to real cycling than a normal stationary bike. I don't want to get a trainer at…
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Secure outdoor bike storage?
I have 2 bikes, a mountain bike worth £400 and a hybrid worth £650. The hybrid lives in the house but up till now the mountain bike has lived in my small backyard (I have no garden) in a thing called a "bike tent". It's just basically a semi-circular canvas tent, a bracket is screwed into the wall with anti-theft screws…
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Decent UK suppliers for children's bikes £100 or less
Hi all Bit of advice needed. My 8 yr old goddaughter has well outgrown her first bike and her parents are looking for a new one for her at a reasonable price (they don't want to pay too much as she'll no doubt outgrow it fairly soon, pesky habit children have!). They showed me one from Sports Direct but I have steered them…
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Essentials for bike cleaning and a *bit* of maintenance
Does anyone have any recommendations for essentials bits of kit required to properly clean a bike? Currently I only use a sponge and some warm soapy water, but I know I need to do more, especially to maintain the chain and derailleur (however you spell it) and cranks. My chain and deraillieur are getting clogged up…
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Winter cycling gear
The cold dark mornings and evenings will soon be upon us, and last year I just put my bike under the stairs and didn't use it again hardly until late February. This year I want to try to carry on commuting at least a couple of times a week as I don't want to lose all the fitness and speed I've built up. I will probably use…
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Cycling magazines (UK)
Just a quickie.... I recently subscribed to Cycling Active and I really look forward to reading it every month because of the range of things in there. There is another mag called Cycling Fitness and I'm wondering if anyone has read this and whether it's worth a subscription? I haven't seen it in my local supermarket you…
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Cycling clubs
Are people in here members of cycling clubs? I'm looking to vary my riding a bit and I think I could pick up loads of hints and tips at a cycling club, but I'm not sure if I'm good enough for a club. I cycle 2-3 times a week to work (but only in the daylight, I don't like cycling in the dark but may give it another try…
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Garmin Edge users
Thanks to some great advice on here and a fantastic article written by DC Rainmaker online I have ordered the Garmin Edge 800 Bike Computer as the mapping and navigation was of particular interest to me. It is being delivered on Monday, I ordered the one with the 1:50 base map (Europe) and ordered the HRM separately as…
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Alternative to GPS Apps
Hi all I have an HTC Desire mobile phone and I use Endomondo and absolutely love it. However, the GPS is extremely unreliable and sometimes I can't even get it to work so just ride and it frustrates me as I like to check on my progress. I've tried all sorts of apps which are supposed to troubleshoot and resolve GPS issues,…
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Cycling shoes / cleats / clips / SPD....HELP!!!
When I'm cycling I'm finding that my feet slip off the pedals and I lose momentum. I'm just using some old running traininers, Nike Airshox or something. The pedals are metal and have jagged edges (sorry for poor description) - standard as fitted to Specialized Vita Elite 2012 if that helps. I was at a local cycle shop…
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Non-knee intensive KB exercises
I have hurt my knee doing lunges & squats, it's the outside of my right kneecap, so squats are almost impossible as it won't drive my weight back up. What KB exercises can I do to keep my strength training on track until the knee stops twinging? I cycle so I'm hoping that will help strengthen it back up. It was really…
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Kettlebell DVDs
Hi all I finally took the plunge and have ordered a set of cast iron kettle bells from eBay, 4kg + 8kg + 10kg I'm now looking for DVDs or YouTube workouts to use with them. I know some of the basic exercises but would prefer to follow along as I tend to "forget" proper form and posture if I do it on my own. I'm looking on…
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Kettlebell advice and recommendations
Hi all Seem to see these everywhere at the moment, on all the fitness TV programs and at a gym I was at at weekend (not my gym sadly). Does anyone have some - any recommendations? I don't do much weight training really - but I'm keen to do that as well as cardio to improve all round fitness and muscle tone. I have TiVO…
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Soup accompaniments
Hi all I'm starting to make soups for my lunch at work - but sometimes it's not enough on it's own. Any ideas of what to put with it which isn't too high in calories, or carbs? Cheers, Fran
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Fitness apps
I just wondered who uses which apps or tech for what? I have been using Endomondo on my HTC Desire S (Android 2.3) to track me when I go cycling, but last couple of times it's just been stuck on "Locating satellites" and so only really recorded about 2/3 of the ride. I use Nike+ on the cardio machines at the gym - you can…
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HRMs
Hi all After a bit of advice. I want to be able to accurately record the calories burnt when doing workouts, so am looking for an HRM. I cycle and go to the gym. When I cycle I track myself using Endomondo on my Android smartphone (HTC Desire S) which records speed v elevation via GPS. In the gym I will be using Nike+ on…
