For the bike nerds...

Originally Posted by fatcat:

My wife claims I love it more than her. Don't know why she thinks that, but must admit I've let her walk home from ASDA with the shopping, in the rain a few times.

Those carrier bags held on the bars can swing into the spokes potentially damaging one. You did what you had to FC.

Could you not give her a "backie?"

Georgio, I think Skurdalsvatnet looks wonderful.

Re the gearing, depends...will you be fully laden with camping gear etc? With 3000m spread over two days you should be fine I think. I went up the Stelvio pass similarly laden on a 50/34 and did not need the get-out-of jail gear as much as anticipated. Aside from reaching the top one of the highlights was hammering it in order to overtake two riders on carbon racers - admittedly they were not the fittest but it is these pyrrhic victories that also bring so much joy on rides to the inner child!

Fantastic story that your grandparents did the same trip in 1946. One year after the War ended. World was a very different place back then and I bet their bikes were heavy!! In the Coppi book I read recently even the best racers were cobbling together bikes from spare car parts and all kinds of scrap metal in the post-war hardships.

Originally Posted by Marky Mark:

Originally Posted by fatcat:

My wife claims I love it more than her. Don't know why she thinks that, but must admit I've let her walk home from ASDA with the shopping, in the rain a few times.

Those carrier bags held on the bars can swing into the spokes potentially damaging one. You did what you had to FC.

Could you not give her a "backie?"

I Say. Steady on.

It's not easy riding with a heavy weight on your back. A few years ago I spotted a huge, heavy, beautiful champagne coloured Marantz DVD player at a car boot, problem was I was on my bike. Luckily I managed to buy a hikers rucksack, the type with a metal L shaped frame and a roll of duct tape. Taped the marantz to the rucksack and onto my back. The weight wasn't the problem, the the instability of it was. It kept shifting when cornering, how I didn't fall off I'll never know.

Originally Posted by Marky Mark:

Originally Posted by fatcat:

My wife claims I love it more than her. Don't know why she thinks that, but must admit I've let her walk home from ASDA with the shopping, in the rain a few times.

Those carrier bags held on the bars can swing into the spokes potentially damaging one. You did what you had to FC.

Could you not give her a "backie?"

If she was holding the bags then this introduces a risk to the rear derailleur as well as spokes. Have you seen a rear-derailleur knocked into the spokes before?

Dear Mark,

If you look close, you will see Continental braking on my cycle  I do everything left handed on the bike though otherwise I am more or less right handed, but most of all I got used to this arrangement [more convenient turning right than you might think on UK left side roads], after using my grandfather's ultra heavy cycle that he used for the trip back in 1946.

My grandmother's one had those net cloth things over the back wheel to stop the splash!

I should have done that run this year ...

My aunt will be back up, and meet me at the destination with a hearty meal, though in the middle there are many suitable coaching hotels for a stop overnight. I just have to choose and make a reservation  No doubt that petrol and car would be cheaper!

My aunt told me that my grandparents camped as was normal in those days. They brought a "primus" stove, sausages, and potatoes... , and apparently also a bottle of Scotch  They shared this and my grandmother was quite ill on the second say going up!

Lovely tale to remember if not to repeat!

ATB from George

George, perhaps emulate the original trip to the fine detail - primus, scotch and spuds - allowing yourself the one comfort of a better steed? Bet it would be a laugh and probably some great camping about. Blacks used to do a 1kg tent for about £60 but available for less in their many sales.

Nice looking bike but it sure lacks something crucial,.................the engine 

Dear Mark,

In those days you could camp without permission! Both my grandparents were huge characters, and the inevitable cold at night would not have been an issue! My mount is, for sure, far better, but I do fancy a nice comfortable bed for the middle of each journey. If I manage it well, then I see it becoming an annual event.

The place in Skurdalen is a family place, bought in  the nineteenth century by my great great grandfather Carl Oscar Rasumssen for his retirement, which did not work out as he soon returned to work, and died in his eighties, still in charge of his textile company in 1928.

The whole family [via my grandmother] were amazing! She is in the second photo, on the step outside Oscarshaugen. 

http://www.asbjorn.info/slekta...asmussenfamilien.htm

My photo was taken in 2000, and needs updating!

ATB from George

Its a great story George. Will make the miles easier with any gearing.

I would not rely on that map though as it looks like they've vastly understated the size of Denmark. Probably some Scandinavian rivalry!

Dear Mark,

Not too much love lost over the owners till Norway declared UDI! Though, actually that was from Sweden! Denmark owned Norway for far longer.

I just like it that on the map in Norway is Rock All as little stony bump in that lake! Carl Oscar was great Anglophile! 

Almost 3000 metres up!

The tree line onto the Hardangervidda is clear in my picture!

ATB from George

More bike p0rn but with a safety angle (oo-er). Bike lights...its that time of year again. Have been looking at these....

http://www.hopetech.com/page.aspx?itemID=SPG408

Opinion seems to be split between those outraged at the price or the brightness (their point being it blinds drivers) versus those who actually own it saying angle it down a bit and in use every car gives you a wide berth. Similar brightness as car rear lights or thereabouts.

I can see the application both on dark country lanes and in city riding where there is so much light pollution from multiple sources and the standard flashing light gets lost.

Still think reflectives on moving body parts (legs) are the best cheap safety improvement.

Anyhow, the Hope light...waste of money or an investment in safety?

Marky Mark

In answer to you queries.

I cannot tell you how the new wheels feel as I've ridden the bike with my winter wheels only so far ( some rather worn Campag Neutrons). There is salt on the roads and lots of leaves etc so I'll use old wheels with some winter tyres on and the nicer ones will be saved for better weather.

I run DT Swiss Tricons on my Parlee in the summer. Lovely, lovely wheels (as are the Neutrons actually) but I'm light at a smidge over 70kg and like a low profile wheel for all the hills. With eyes closed I'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference bewteen these two wheelsets but the DT Swiss run tubeless and I think the slightly lower pressures make them a bit more comfy if anything. I always rather liked the look of DT Swiss Mon Chassarals's, I suspect they are similar in losing a bit of lateral stiffness for lightness and a nice lively feel. If you are heavier they might be a bit flexy I guess.

Zullo weight-no idea. I never weigh my bikes. It is clearly a bit heavier than the Parlee (which is very light) but it does not feel to be a huge difference. Maybe one cog down on the steeper hills around home?

I'm on holiday at home this week, riding every day if I can. The bike is definitely dirty and is going to get a wash at the weekend if it is lucky!

Bruce

Seeing Wiggo and the GB cycling coach have been chopped down by cars I wonder what lights people use? Still looking at those Hope numbers but quite a price (albeit not much more than a SBL gasket kit and unlike the kit they may save my life )

Exposure Flash & Flare, with a Exposure Joystick for main light

Keep calling them USE, old habits etc.....

John

Thanks John. They're on the list too. I hear the Flare is bright indeed.

The Hope one comes with a separate PSU though which is comforting....potential upgrade path?

I use a Nightrider Lumina 250. 250 Lumens, self contained (no separate battery or cable) and rechargeable from USB. I find it very good indeed. I've had it a few years and use it twice a day on my winter commute.

This is the new version. 650 Lumens and a better clamp than mine has. Reasonably priced (these get cheaper all the time). Less than $150 online.

Currently have a Cateye and Smart for the rear. My head has been turned by the new LED tech as I feel some drivers may have become a bit ambivalent to the little flashing lights. If I have something akin to a rear brake light on a car or motorbike then less chance of SMIDSY etc.

I think that when one of Nature's gentlemen, like Wiggo, is knocked down, the Media takes note, rightly.

Perhaps the careless minority of motorists [most not willfully careless I'd grant] will take more care. What we need on the roads to make cycling safer is more cyclists. Motorists will then have to be aware of more relatively vulnerable road users and eventually become more careful. 

Cycling is not inherently dangerous, but careless motorists are, and we have to manage a culture change away from the motor car lobby.

The other famous cyclist, knocked down today, seems potentially to have been far more seriously injured, and my prayers go out for him. This brings another point, really. Cycle helmets are all well and good for tiny incidents. A serious crash will not be significantly affected by wearing one or not in many cases. Really car drivers need to be careful enough that wearing a helmet is not considered a significant issue. There is evidence that motorists seeing cyclist with a helmet actually drive with less care concerning the cyclist. Winky posted something about this not long ago.

In time I hope legislation concerning these issues will be weighted so as to reflect the vulnerability of a cyclist in collision with a motor vehicle. In countries with a much more satisfactory cycling culture, such as the Scandinavian countries and Holland, the situation is such that we should try to emulate it in the UK.

It may take some fairly Draconian legislation to help shift the attitudes of the worst drivers, for all that.

ATB from George

Was in Utrecht recently. Really something to behold. Can you imagine sending kids to school on a bike in a city and not worrying?

Obviously if a supreme maestro like Wiggo can get knocked off then complacency must not creep in but I am generally fairly confident in traffic and the major factor in this is being able to keep up with the flow (in urban areas anyway) and hold a place in the line. However, most people who might desire to ride or who ride infrequently don't have the speed or confidence and hence it is like one big game of Frogger for them.

If they put in separated bike lanes and stopped messing around painting 1m wide strips of road then the uptake would be enormous I feel.

The other thing is that I believe in Holland and in France (perhaps elsewhere too) the burden of proof of innocence is upon the driver if a cyclist is knocked off. Here it is just SMIDSY and maybe a small fine.

Finally, one hopes the Olympics and TdF successes might make people see cycling differently. Even in Italy, a land full of maverick speeding drivers, you are given a wide berth and no abuse by car drivers. That is because they love bikes in the land of the Ferrari. You can love both.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20252212

I see driving near me not far off this standard most days. Novel punishment. Defendant looks suitably sheepish. Can you imagine the more outrage if a driver had to carry an 'idiot' sign here in the UK? He was only driving his 4x4 in a residential area at 60mph outside the school...he was late to collect his morning paper....how dare they humiliate him like this etc...

I am a driver too and pay road taxes before someone tells me off.

If you want to to know what it is like to be exonerated of murder in the court of public opinion, kill a cyclist with your car in Australia; Such is the hatred of cyclists there. You'll also likely be exonerated in the real court. The SMIDSY, or HSIMP defences are powerful ones. Especially if the only other witness is in the morgue.

The most common reason given for hating/trying-to-kill cyclists is that they wear spandex/lycra. I mean, who do they think they are trying to be? Lance f*#^!ng Armstrong?!

smidsy

Sorry mate, I did not see you.

For any driver to fail to see a pedestrian or cyclist, should lead to a life ban from operating a car, van or lorry. End of story, in my view.

And if they then drive illegally, they should suffer a long prison sentence - enough to wreck their life.

ATB from George

Although provocative G, I see what you're saying. We would surely be amazed by a drastic reduction in fatalities of pedestrians and cyclists with such draconian sanctions in place as suddenly drivers around the UK discover that they can see after all....when they're paying attention and not driving so aggressively that is.

Draconian, yes. 

Necessary, yes.

When cyclists increase in number they will become a significant political force that might even see such laws come to pass in a democratic system.

Only a few years ago one was allowed to smoke in a pub! Well maiming and killing pedestrians and cyclists with badly driven road vehicles is no less significant than causing passive smoking in my humble opinion.

ATB from George

Have to disagree with George that cycling is not inherently dangerous.

We have minimal protection, we are on skinny tyres on the grotty edge of the road and we are doing speeds up to 40mph at times. I think the issue is not about visibility (or at least it should not be) more about the difference between a cocooned driver in their safety cell and the inherently exposed and unstable cyclist. In the UK you should add systematically badly designed and usually overcrowded roads plus a nice layer of winter muck. I slithered off my bike last week just because I kissed a white line under braking. My fault.

For me a number of cycling crashes are cyclists fault, or just a combination of factors that includes the rider, and cyclists often resist accepting that. It is always the driver somehow.

I'm a fairly cautious rider. I completely accept that some drivers are bad or just plain nasty but I'm also a driver and I know at times I have driven badly too. As a cyclist I sometimes grimace at the bad standards of riding by other cyclists-and typically that is when they are out in big groups I think.

Riders should feel vulnerable, and be cautious as a result. Motorcyclists (or organ donors as they are called in A+E departments) are essentially not much safer and go much faster. I'd never ride a mortorbike, and I don't think I'd cycle if I lived in an urban area. I also do not ride at night whatever the benefits of modern lighting.

Safety is part cyclists responsibility, and IMHO cycling regularly will mean coming off occasionally.

Bruce.