Your rants here.

elbowloh

Seajays wrote:

So I commute the same route every day, and use Strava unfailingly. On the one infrequent day yesterday where I had to visit somewhere else first, it meant I was taking a completely different route home, about twice as far as usual, coming in from the north with some really good long uphills and downhills.

Got home and went to stop Strava on my watch... battery had given up halfway through for some unknown reason - and with the really fast bits all missed out too

Then it didn't happen.

Like the moon landings... :twisted:

frogonabike

elbowloh wrote:

Seajays wrote:

So I commute the same route every day, and use Strava unfailingly. On the one infrequent day yesterday where I had to visit somewhere else first, it meant I was taking a completely different route home, about twice as far as usual, coming in from the north with some really good long uphills and downhills.

Got home and went to stop Strava on my watch... battery had given up halfway through for some unknown reason - and with the really fast bits all missed out too

Then it didn't happen.

Like the moon landings... :twisted:

I heard the moon landings are now available on Strava, the good Armstrong recorded them

wolfsbane2k

Yesterday's ride home was an epic Clothing Fail:

First time I've ridden this bike without baggies or tights - it was just too hot, and it turns out the seat is really, really grippy on lycra; grippy enough to keep hold of my shorts when I stood up.... :oops:

seajays

elbowloh wrote:

Seajays wrote:

So I commute the same route every day, and use Strava unfailingly. On the one infrequent day yesterday where I had to visit somewhere else first, it meant I was taking a completely different route home, about twice as far as usual, coming in from the north with some really good long uphills and downhills.

Got home and went to stop Strava on my watch... battery had given up halfway through for some unknown reason - and with the really fast bits all missed out too

Then it didn't happen.

Like the moon landings... :twisted:

AAarrrghhh - twist the knife why don't you.

elbowloh

Wolfsbane2k wrote:

Yesterday's ride home was an epic Clothing Fail:

First time I've ridden this bike without baggies or tights - it was just too hot, and it turns out the seat is really, really grippy on lycra; grippy enough to keep hold of my shorts when I stood up.... :oops:

How does a saddle grip lycra?

wolfsbane2k

elbowloh wrote:

Wolfsbane2k wrote:

Yesterday's ride home was an epic Clothing Fail:

First time I've ridden this bike without baggies or tights - it was just too hot, and it turns out the seat is really, really grippy on lycra; grippy enough to keep hold of my shorts when I stood up.... :oops:

How does a saddle grip lycra?

It probably wasn't the lycra itself, more the fact that the saddle is super, supper grippy, like a matt finish, and I've not had the misfortune of mixing only 1 layer and it before...
In comparison, My roadie's saddle, after ~22k miles, is buffed to a smooth, polished finish.

slowbike

Apart from Monday, I've been on parental duties ... so my bike is still in the garage ...

bonzo_banana

TGOTB wrote:

By the time I'd bought my daughter's Islabikes 2nd hand and then sold them on for what I paid for them, they were effectively free. OK, so there's the cost of having a couple of hundred pounds locked up in a bike, but at today's interest rates that's a few quid a year...

I'm not disagreeing with some of these bikes having very low depreciation I'm just making the point about the extremely low manufacturing cost compared to the retail price. It's like parents who are worried about their child's safety are willing to pay high prices for a high quality bicycle and importing brands absolutely exploit that by charging very high retail prices and that has been accepted for many years now. It's not about what something costs to make its about what people are willing to pay. I totally accept that such low depreciation can make the effective purchase price very low. If I charged £2000 for a shovel but people were willing to pay £1990 for it s/hand then I guess it has cheap ownership if you only need it for a short time but still that £2000 cost would be unfair.

tgotb

Bonzo Banana wrote:

TGOTB wrote:

By the time I'd bought my daughter's Islabikes 2nd hand and then sold them on for what I paid for them, they were effectively free. OK, so there's the cost of having a couple of hundred pounds locked up in a bike, but at today's interest rates that's a few quid a year...

I'm not disagreeing with some of these bikes having very low depreciation I'm just making the point about the extremely low manufacturing cost compared to the retail price. It's like parents who are worried about their child's safety are willing to pay high prices for a high quality bicycle and importing brands absolutely exploit that by charging very high retail prices and that has been accepted for many years now. It's not about what something costs to make its about what people are willing to pay. I totally accept that such low depreciation can make the effective purchase price very low. If I charged £2000 for a shovel but people were willing to pay £1990 for it s/hand then I guess it has cheap ownership if you only need it for a short time but still that £2000 cost would be unfair.

I'm not paying that price for safety, I'm paying for increased enjoyment of riding and easier maintainability. When the rider only weighs 20kg, lighter bikes make a huge difference to enjoyment. Decent quality components, which are what you get on a (UK-built) Islabike, are much easier to maintain, and a well-maintained bike will be more fun to ride. If your kids aren't enjoying riding their bikes, they won't want to do it.

Quality kids' bikes are a competitive market in the UK, with Worx, Frog and others all at around the same price point as Islabikes. If you think they're overpriced, why don't you undercut the market with cheaper ones?

What bike do your kid(s) ride?

slowbike

Bonzo Banana wrote:

I'm just making the point about the extremely low manufacturing cost compared to the retail price.<snip>If I charged £2000 for a shovel but people were willing to pay £1990 for it s/hand then I guess it has cheap ownership if you only need it for a short time but still that £2000 cost would be unfair.

It's not unfair unless it is an essential item.

We've long since been selling things that cost a lot less to make than the items sell for - partly to cover distribution costs and middlemen, partly to cover development costs and partly just to make profit.

Its only unfair if you have no choice and NEED the item.

You can take/leave a branded bike - they're not a necessity, but arguably, they are desirable - which is why we have 2 (!) for our son. of course, we accept the price, but get the benefit of having a bike that is light, easy to handle for the child and maintains a relatively good resale value.

We also had a bike trailer for kids (to put the child in - not for them to tow) - we went cheap on that and "lost" ~70% of the value when we sold it about a year later - it'd done less than 100 miles (never tallied it up) - conversely, my brother bought an expensive one, used it, then sold on - probably covering most of his cost. Was it unfair that his trailer was expensive but mine not? Nah - not at all - he didn't "need" the expensive trailer - any more than we needed the cheap one - just availability for him meant that the purchase cost was only part of the consideration (he's abroad).

Ironically, if we'd bought a better one I think we would've used it more and probably delayed getting Little Slowbike on a bike of his own

drhaggis

To put the cost of kids' bikes in perspective, Decathlon is now finally offering 16" wheel bikes with aluminium frames, for £140. These are 2 kg lighter and £50 more than the equivalent steel model. I somehow doubt that has too much of a profit, when you take everything into account.

You could get that... or put another £50 or so, and get a 2nd hand Islabike that's another kg lighter, with a high likelihood of recovering most if not all your money on the resale.

tgotb

As an indication of the lower end of the market, Halfords have the Apollo Gridlok Junior MTB for £128. At a whopping 16kg, this is two thirds the average weight of the 8-year-old kids it's marketed at. Picture riding a bike that's two thirds of your body weight, and ask yourself how likely you would be to stick with cycling if that was your only experience of it!

edward.s

I bought Boy a Frog62, then an Allez Junior. Paid £300 each new. Just sold them for £250 and £210 respectively after 2-3 years. In that time Boy has ridden a nice bike that he actually enjoyed and with gears and brakes that work. I'll take that.

My sister bought her kids Halfords specials and they went down the dump as no-one would buy them on ebay, so she lost probably £200 over both, and my niece and nephew had to ride crappy heavy bikes.

Boy is 8 and now has a Planet X LR with full 105 and Prime wheels 'cause he got to love cycling on the other bikes. I built the LR up with bits I had in the garage in the main, and when he outgrows it we'll transfer all the parts onto a bigger frame.

rhodrich

My kids (aged 8 and 6) both have Decathlon bikes that we got second hand for virtually nothing (£30 for one, £25 for the other). Following a little fettling, they work perfectly, do the job, and the kids love them.

Back when I were a lad, 'lightweight' kids bikes didn't exist. A Raleigh Grifter or a Chopper weighed an absolute ton, and yet were objects of desire (which my folks couldn't afford.) I did my cycling proficiency test on my sister's old Raleigh shopper bike. Can't recall any of this putting me off cycling.

Get your kids expensive Frog or Islabikes if you want to, but don't worry if you don't. It's not really about the bike.....

wolfsbane2k

Rhodrich wrote:

My kids (aged 8 and 6) both have Decathlon bikes that we got second hand for virtually nothing (£30 for one, £25 for the other). Following a little fettling, they work perfectly, do the job, and the kids love them.

Back when I were a lad, 'lightweight' kids bikes didn't exist. A Raleigh Grifter or a Chopper weighed an absolute ton, and yet were objects of desire (which my folks couldn't afford.) I did my cycling proficiency test on my sister's old Raleigh shopper bike. Can't recall any of this putting me off cycling.

Get your kids expensive Frog or Islabikes if you want to, but don't worry if you don't. It's not really about the bike.....

Amen

tangled_metal

Wasn't on bike today so got stuck in a traffic jam that was particularly bad on the way home. That doesn't bother me, it just have to be patient and wait for traffic to move.

The real issue is drivers who can't do that. I had a guy in a kia suv who was a bit aggressive. I was driving with a date distance between me and the car in front heading down from a bridge towards a set of lights. You could see the lights were due a change so both me and the car in front was allowing for having to stop on a slope.

Not the car behind me. The driver was getting irate with the arm waving and shouting. Plus he was driving right up until I couldn't see his car's radiator. Had him behind me until I turned off the road at some lights where I do a right turn. I indicated and parked up (handbrake as it's on a hill) waiting for a gap in oncoming traffic or the lights to stop traffic. I had nowhere to go. Aggressive driver stopped practically touching my car and honked his horn with more aggressive arm gestures. Like what could I do? I gave him enough time to move around me by my indicating early enough. He then made an exaggerated manoeuvre to get around me.

Then while waiting some time another car drove right up behind my car, while still indicating. This guy (another male, middle aged guy of that's significant) also told me off with his horn (several honks of his horn). Then he drove around me.

Why all the aggression? Where does it get them? I put it down to the traffic in town that they probably got delayed in.

Just glad I didn't meet them on the bike. I reckon they're not stable enough to be allowed to drive.

itboffin

Wolfsbane2k wrote:

Rhodrich wrote:

My kids (aged 8 and 6) both have Decathlon bikes that we got second hand for virtually nothing (£30 for one, £25 for the other). Following a little fettling, they work perfectly, do the job, and the kids love them.

Back when I were a lad, 'lightweight' kids bikes didn't exist. A Raleigh Grifter or a Chopper weighed an absolute ton, and yet were objects of desire (which my folks couldn't afford.) I did my cycling proficiency test on my sister's old Raleigh shopper bike. Can't recall any of this putting me off cycling.

Get your kids expensive Frog or Islabikes if you want to, but don't worry if you don't. It's not really about the bike.....

Amen

I don't see what the fuss with frog bikes is all about, the components are still bottom of the range missmatch with very cheaply made wheels and tyres.

frogonabike

Re: the kids bikes chat, I won't be buying mid-range new again. Went for a £160 alu bike (ridgeback) for froglets first, resale value now is about £30. Recently bought her second bike and decided to go Frog for the resale value (and the amazing name obvs) Cost of ownership is likely to be £50-100 vs £130 and she gets a better quality product.

If you don't want to pay £300ish upfront then I think 2nd hand half decent is a smart option as you can spend less than £50 and lose practically nothing for a bike that's 95% as good as the "top" brands

pangolin

pangolin wrote:

pangolin wrote:

KingstonGraham wrote:

pangolin wrote:

Guy parked on double yellows decided to pull out as I went past. Shin clipped his front arch, back wheel bounced out, went down on my side. No real injury, bartape is ripped, rear wheel a bit out of true and tyre deflated for some reason. Shifters and derailleur all scuffed up (that's annoying, doesn't seem worth getting a new shifter for a scuff but it will always annoy me when I see it). Taking it to a bike shop tomorrow to get it checked.

He gave me his number and I took a photo of his car so not all bad.

No real injury, or no injury?

Well I felt fine but it's always hard to tell at first. 2 days later and yeah just a bruise on my shin nothing else.

Bike repaired, was only £62. Driver ignored my updates by text during this. Called him a couple of days later and he picked up, laughed when I said who I was. Started blustering about paying in a couple of weeks, then that he didn't trust me about the £62 (despite sending him the receipt) and he wanted to go back to the bike shop with me to talk to them. This would be my 3rd trip to the shop, he could have come on one of the earlier ones if he'd bothered replying. Then he said he'd call them and get back to me. Called him later on, said he was busy "looking for his wallet" and would get back to me. Since then has been ignoring my calls. What a f******g p***k.

For that much money who cares really, but I am hacked off. Called Leigh Day as I am a british cycling member. They advised I contact his insurance in the first instance as that's usually the quickest resolution. They were able to provide me with his insurer and policy number from his number plate, which is a nice feature, I didn't know they could do that. So after he ignored another call and a message saying I'd deal with his insurer if he didn't want to handle it, I have sent them all the details. Seeing it as an unlikely bonus if I get any money back at this point but want to cause him some hassle!

He wasn't insured, it was his sister in law's car. Get this impression she is getting annoyed with all the calls and letters she is getting, as he is now calling me for the first time wanting to pay. I'm dealing with the insurance now though. Why on EARTH wouldn't you pay a £62 repair bill, knowing you aren't insured?! What a muppet.

Edit, oh and the name he gave me was not the driver name the sister in law gave to her insurers, so it sounds like he gave me a fake name too.

timothyw

Unfortunate that it's the sister in law getting the hassle. What an absolute prick.

tgotb

pangolin wrote:

Why on EARTH wouldn't you pay a £62 repair bill, knowing you aren't insured?! What a muppet.

Ah, but if he had more than one fully-functioning neuron he wouldn't be driving without insurance in the first place. Given that he was, it's a bit unreasonable to expect him to start behaving rationally after the event...

anonymousblackfg

Quite amazing that he gave you a functioning telephone number!

kingstonian

Rhodrich wrote:

My kids (aged 8 and 6) both have Decathlon bikes that we got second hand for virtually nothing (£30 for one, £25 for the other). Following a little fettling, they work perfectly, do the job, and the kids love them.

Back when I were a lad, 'lightweight' kids bikes didn't exist. A Raleigh Grifter or a Chopper weighed an absolute ton, and yet were objects of desire (which my folks couldn't afford.) I did my cycling proficiency test on my sister's old Raleigh shopper bike. Can't recall any of this putting me off cycling.

Get your kids expensive Frog or Islabikes if you want to, but don't worry if you don't. It's not really about the bike.....

Agreed. It is all about the bike. The bonus with an Isla bike is that you can pick them up second hand in pristine condition, run them for a couple of years until your kid grows out of it, and bung it back on ebay and get your money back. Have done it once before and am doing it again now. Happy days !!!

pangolin

anonymousblackfg wrote:

Quite amazing that he gave you a functioning telephone number!

It is really! I called him as he gave it to me so would have been awkward if not...

veronese68

pangolin wrote:

anonymousblackfg wrote:

Quite amazing that he gave you a functioning telephone number!

It is really! I called him as he gave it to me so would have been awkward if not...

What a prize pillock, good job you checked the number. Hopefully he will get no end of grief having caused other people so much of it. I'd like to think he will learn from it but I suspect he won't and will more likely feel hard done by even though it's all as a result of his own actions.

itboffin

first turbo tempo ride with the correct HR zones and 1. Tacx HR workout configured to hold me at max HR for the zone rather than within the zone and worst of all at the bleeding end it said saving and uploading to the cloud but nothing! gone!

BALLS

pangolin

Cycled home past someone who was sat in slow moving (but moving) traffic with a book open on her steering wheel.

awavey

can you be punished passed head on ? felt like it today, as I almost had a head on collision with a car who chose to overtake a stopping vehicle whilst I was already in prime heading the other way, and they took as much of my side of the road as they could,there was a second or two when I thought it was going to get very painful

wolfsbane2k

Went to put some oil on the chain this morning as I'd failed to give it a wash over the weekend (Sunday's weather wasn't much aligned with standing outside and cleaning a bike) to find that I'd knocked the chain oil bottle over when putting the bike away on Friday night, and it had leaked all over the shelves and floor - and there was none left in the bottle.

"squeak squeak squeak"...

gbsahne001

went downstairs to take the dog out for his walk, only to find the cat acting very suspicious.....moved the sofa to find the source of her behaviour.

Cue me spending the next 10 minutes trying to extricate a rat from behind the sofa, whilst a crazes Spaniel is also trying to get in on the action. The cat of course has already got bored of this and has wandered off to lick her butt.