Silly Commuter Stats

salsajake

Clever Pun wrote:

Oddjob62 wrote:

nic_77 wrote:

Walking miles should only be allowed if cycling specific footwear is worn... we could start a new sport of cleated sprinting

hmmm maybe i should add the mile or so i did last night after my tyre exploded.

unlucky, mine went the other day, I hissy fitted and got in a cab, that was pretty damned embarrassing

I'm embarrassed reading it.

Clever Pun

salsajake wrote:

Clever Pun wrote:

Oddjob62 wrote:

nic_77 wrote:

Walking miles should only be allowed if cycling specific footwear is worn... we could start a new sport of cleated sprinting

hmmm maybe i should add the mile or so i did last night after my tyre exploded.

unlucky, mine went the other day, I hissy fitted and got in a cab, that was pretty damned embarrassing

I'm embarrassed reading it.

it was my 4th puncture of the day, I didn't have a spare tyre it was 9.30ish and I was at least 11 miles from home. Didn't have a choice :x

salsajake

Clever Pun wrote:

salsajake wrote:

Clever Pun wrote:

Oddjob62 wrote:

nic_77 wrote:

Walking miles should only be allowed if cycling specific footwear is worn... we could start a new sport of cleated sprinting

hmmm maybe i should add the mile or so i did last night after my tyre exploded.

unlucky, mine went the other day, I hissy fitted and got in a cab, that was pretty damned embarrassing

I'm embarrassed reading it.

it was my 4th puncture of the day, I didn't have a spare tyre it was 9.30ish and I was at least 11 miles from home. Didn't have a choice :x

4 in a day?! Hissy fit away my friend, hissy fit away!

salsajake

Clever Pun wrote:

salsajake wrote:

Clever Pun wrote:

Oddjob62 wrote:

nic_77 wrote:

Walking miles should only be allowed if cycling specific footwear is worn... we could start a new sport of cleated sprinting

hmmm maybe i should add the mile or so i did last night after my tyre exploded.

unlucky, mine went the other day, I hissy fitted and got in a cab, that was pretty damned embarrassing

I'm embarrassed reading it.

it was my 4th puncture of the day, I didn't have a spare tyre it was 9.30ish and I was at least 11 miles from home. Didn't have a choice :x

4 in a day?! Hissy fit away my friend, hissy fit away!

Clever Pun

salsajake wrote:

4 in a day?! Hissy fit away my friend, hissy fit away!

if I was closer to the river I'd probably need a new bike right now

itboffin

After this mornings issues I'm on for a 50+ mile commute today not back for my first day back, I was already planning an extended inbound journey tomorrow add that to this weekends socials and I'm looking good to break 1000 miles YTD in feb. Very nice indeed

Clever Pun

itboffin wrote:

After this mornings issues I'm on for a 50+ mile commute today not back for my first day back, I was already planning an extended inbound journey tomorrow add that to this weekends socials and I'm looking good to break 1000 miles YTD in feb. Very nice indeed

pffft welcome to last week

itboffin

Clever Pun wrote:

itboffin wrote:

After this mornings issues I'm on for a 50+ mile commute today not back for my first day back, I was already planning an extended inbound journey tomorrow add that to this weekends socials and I'm looking good to break 1000 miles YTD in feb. Very nice indeed

pffft welcome to last week

yeh but I can make up ground in four days that's taken you weeks to gain, how do you like them apples?!

Clever Pun

itboffin wrote:

Clever Pun wrote:

itboffin wrote:

After this mornings issues I'm on for a 50+ mile commute today not back for my first day back, I was already planning an extended inbound journey tomorrow add that to this weekends socials and I'm looking good to break 1000 miles YTD in feb. Very nice indeed

pffft welcome to last week

yeh but I can make up ground in four days that's taken you weeks to gain, how do you like them apples?!

I know, your base miles for January were very damned impressive

enjoy it while your knees last

hambones

Yet more punctures yesterday - 11 in a week!!

I was on the Scott yesterday and had a slow puncture on the front and a not so slow one on the back. I had to stop and pump it up 4 times to get me home. There was no way I was going to ride 8 miles on THOSE rims unlike last week!

will3

hambones wrote:

Yet more punctures yesterday - 11 in a week!!
)

She's certianly very active. Last night when I was fixing my bike of the afore mentioned chain problem, I took the rear wheel out, which necessitates deflating the tyre. When I put it back in and re-inflated it, it was leaking. Very strange

Clever Pun

will3 wrote:

hambones wrote:

Yet more punctures yesterday - 11 in a week!!
)

She's certianly very active. Last night when I was fixing my bike of the afore mentioned chain problem, I took the rear wheel out, which necessitates deflating the tyre. When I put it back in and re-inflated it, it was leaking. Very strange

sorry to hear that guys

Hambones..11 wtf??

jonginge

will3 wrote:

hambones wrote:

Yet more punctures yesterday - 11 in a week!!
)

She's certianly very active. Last night when I was fixing my bike of the afore mentioned chain problem, I took the rear wheel out, which necessitates deflating the tyre. When I put it back in and re-inflated it, it was leaking. Very strange

:? You have no quick release on your brakes?

CiB

hambones wrote:

Yet more punctures yesterday - 11 in a week!!

You have to take the big pointy piece of glass out before reinflating.

Pffft* indeed.

*top word that. I plan to use it in a formal context at least twice this week.

will3

JonGinge wrote:

will3 wrote:

hambones wrote:

Yet more punctures yesterday - 11 in a week!!
)

She's certianly very active. Last night when I was fixing my bike of the afore mentioned chain problem, I took the rear wheel out, which necessitates deflating the tyre. When I put it back in and re-inflated it, it was leaking. Very strange

:? You have no quick release on your brakes?

Ah yes, well it's like this: on a CX (well mine anyway) I have canti brakes. Now of course you can realse the straddle cable which lets the brakes open a bit more, but only until the pad holder hits the frame. This is not enough to let a 32mm tyre pass in either direction without letting air out.
Many's the time I've take a wheel out to fix a puncture, re-inflated it, then realised I'd forgotten the above fact, un-re-inflated it, re-fitted it, un-un-re-inflated it.

salsajake

will3 wrote:

JonGinge wrote:

will3 wrote:

hambones wrote:

Yet more punctures yesterday - 11 in a week!!
)

She's certianly very active. Last night when I was fixing my bike of the afore mentioned chain problem, I took the rear wheel out, which necessitates deflating the tyre. When I put it back in and re-inflated it, it was leaking. Very strange

:? You have no quick release on your brakes?

Ah yes, well it's like this: on a CX (well mine anyway) I have canti brakes. Now of course you can realse the straddle cable which lets the brakes open a bit more, but only until the pad holder hits the frame. This is not enough to let a 32mm tyre pass in either direction without letting air out.
Many's the time I've take a wheel out to fix a puncture, re-inflated it, then realised I'd forgotten the above fact, un-re-inflated it, re-fitted it, un-un-re-inflated it.

so don't you have barrel adjusters on your cables as they leave the brakes? How do you tweak the gap from pad to wheel as the pads wear? Buy a couple of adjusters, stick them in, then you can take the tension off to get wheels in and out, and put the tension on to compensate for brake wear. They will be a godsend to you (assuming you don't have them and just didn't know what they are!)

itboffin

will3 wrote:

JonGinge wrote:

will3 wrote:

hambones wrote:

Yet more punctures yesterday - 11 in a week!!
)

She's certianly very active. Last night when I was fixing my bike of the afore mentioned chain problem, I took the rear wheel out, which necessitates deflating the tyre. When I put it back in and re-inflated it, it was leaking. Very strange

:? You have no quick release on your brakes?

Ah yes, well it's like this: on a CX (well mine anyway) I have canti brakes. Now of course you can realse the straddle cable which lets the brakes open a bit more, but only until the pad holder hits the frame. This is not enough to let a 32mm tyre pass in either direction without letting air out.
Many's the time I've take a wheel out to fix a puncture, re-inflated it, then realised I'd forgotten the above fact, un-re-inflated it, re-fitted it, un-un-re-inflated it.

My CNC/Ti brakes on the Trek have no quick release

will3

salsajake wrote:

will3 wrote:

JonGinge wrote:

will3 wrote:

hambones wrote:

Yet more punctures yesterday - 11 in a week!!
)

She's certianly very active. Last night when I was fixing my bike of the afore mentioned chain problem, I took the rear wheel out, which necessitates deflating the tyre. When I put it back in and re-inflated it, it was leaking. Very strange

:? You have no quick release on your brakes?

Ah yes, well it's like this: on a CX (well mine anyway) I have canti brakes. Now of course you can realse the straddle cable which lets the brakes open a bit more, but only until the pad holder hits the frame. This is not enough to let a 32mm tyre pass in either direction without letting air out.
Many's the time I've take a wheel out to fix a puncture, re-inflated it, then realised I'd forgotten the above fact, un-re-inflated it, re-fitted it, un-un-re-inflated it.

so don't you have barrel adjusters on your cables as they leave the brakes? How do you tweak the gap from pad to wheel as the pads wear? Buy a couple of adjusters, stick them in, then you can take the tension off to get wheels in and out, and put the tension on to compensate for brake wear. They will be a godsend to you (assuming you don't have them and just didn't know what they are!)

There's barrel adjusters on the cross top levers (and yes, ta, I use them )
The thing is it doesn't matter how much tension you take off the cable, hell you could cut it completely, the brake pads hit the seat stays/front fork before they're open far enough to let the tyre through.

barry_kellett99

I'll be dumping the Canti brakes on my pompino partly for this reason. I dont want to twiddle and adjust at brakes after changing a tire

Also, because they are completely useless at stopping you... thats the other reason

wgwarburton

barry_kellett99 wrote:

I'll be dumping the Canti brakes on my pompino partly for this reason. I dont want to twiddle and adjust at brakes after changing a tire

Also, because they are completely useless at stopping you... thats the other reason

? Methinks there's something wrong... Cantis should be capable of stopping anything without an engine... The adjustment is more critical than Vs, I believe, but if they are set up properly there shouldn't be any lack of stoppage.

There should be a Q/R on the barrel adjuster (or the brake levers) that eases the blocks enough to pop the wheel out (Salsajake's specific issue with blocks fouling stays, notwithstanding).. or, as mentioned earlier, you can usually pop the straddle-wire easily enough.

Make sure you've given the cantis a chance before you abandon them... Any alternative will have it's own issues.

Cheers,
W.

barry_kellett99

Cheers WGW
I hear you.

I have changed pads on the front and tested various amounts of toe in, I have what I would call Excessive toe in right now on the front to get some sort of braking power.

The only way to get a decent stop out of them is to pull the brakes from right down on the drops at the end of the levers. So to me it seems a mechanical design issue that the pivot point of the levers is possibly the limiting factor. They are Tektro r200a levers i think and were sold to me on the basis they would work with Canti's

I have given them enough chances and refinement, with some slight improvements, but I cant see how doing anything else is going to transform them from the power they have now to the sort of power I used to get out of my XT V-Brakes on the old MTB


They might stay on now winter is almost over, but i will definitely not be enduring them again next winter.





I'll sell you them for a few quid

itboffin

Changing the pads to koolstops or swissstop makes a huge difference.

salsajake

will3 wrote:

salsajake wrote:

will3 wrote:

JonGinge wrote:

will3 wrote:

hambones wrote:

Yet more punctures yesterday - 11 in a week!!
)

She's certianly very active. Last night when I was fixing my bike of the afore mentioned chain problem, I took the rear wheel out, which necessitates deflating the tyre. When I put it back in and re-inflated it, it was leaking. Very strange

:? You have no quick release on your brakes?

Ah yes, well it's like this: on a CX (well mine anyway) I have canti brakes. Now of course you can realse the straddle cable which lets the brakes open a bit more, but only until the pad holder hits the frame. This is not enough to let a 32mm tyre pass in either direction without letting air out.
Many's the time I've take a wheel out to fix a puncture, re-inflated it, then realised I'd forgotten the above fact, un-re-inflated it, re-fitted it, un-un-re-inflated it.

so don't you have barrel adjusters on your cables as they leave the brakes? How do you tweak the gap from pad to wheel as the pads wear? Buy a couple of adjusters, stick them in, then you can take the tension off to get wheels in and out, and put the tension on to compensate for brake wear. They will be a godsend to you (assuming you don't have them and just didn't know what they are!)

There's barrel adjusters on the cross top levers (and yes, ta, I use them )
The thing is it doesn't matter how much tension you take off the cable, hell you could cut it completely, the brake pads hit the seat stays/front fork before they're open far enough to let the tyre through.

seems most odd, are you sure that a different use of the spacers (i.e. more spacers behind the pads rather than in front of them) together might not prevent the fouling issue? Its very odd for a CX frame/fork to have issues with 32s. What bike/brakeset is it?

wgwarburton

barry_kellett99 wrote:

I have changed pads on the front and tested various amounts of toe in, I have what I would call Excessive toe in right now on the front to get some sort of braking power.

Have a read of this:
http://sheldonbrown.com/canti-trad.html

..and related pages, to see if that sheds any light.

.... They are Tektro r200a levers i think and were sold to me on the basis they would work with Canti's

Yup, those should do.

I'll sell you them for a few quid

What type are they?

Cheers,
W.

will3

barry_kellett99 wrote:

I'll be dumping the Canti brakes on my pompino partly for this reason. I dont want to twiddle and adjust at brakes after changing a tire

Also, because they are completely useless at stopping you... thats the other reason

Ah you don't actually have to adjust anything after chaning the tyre, you just can't get the wheel out with the tyre inflated. Maybe the pompino has greater clearances.

barry_kellett99 wrote:

Also, because they are completely useless at stopping you... thats the other reason

Not strictly true: if you adjust them just right and it's perfectly dry and it's a full moon and you've given written notice of your intention to stop then they're adequate

will3

salsajake wrote:

seems most odd, are you sure that a different use of the spacers (i.e. more spacers behind the pads rather than in front of them) together might not prevent the fouling issue? Its very odd for a CX frame/fork to have issues with 32s. What bike/brakeset is it?

very sure. Spacers will make no difference, the only thing that might would be wafer thin brake blocks

it's a 2008 Genesis vapour with shimano 550s

ps I lied, actually they're 38s, but quite skinny ones. However, not sure a 32 would go either really.

will3

barry_kellett99 wrote:

Cheers WGW
I hear you.

I have changed pads on the front and tested various amounts of toe in, I have what I would call Excessive toe in right now on the front to get some sort of braking power.

The only way to get a decent stop out of them is to pull the brakes from right down on the drops at the end of the levers. So to me it seems a mechanical design issue that the pivot point of the levers is possibly the limiting factor. They are Tektro r200a levers i think and were sold to me on the basis they would work with Canti's

I have given them enough chances and refinement, with some slight improvements, but I cant see how doing anything else is going to transform them from the power they have now to the sort of power I used to get out of my XT V-Brakes on the old MTB


They might stay on now winter is almost over, but i will definitely not be enduring them again next winter.
:

BK what are you planning on replacing them with?
If you're running stis you can't just pop normal v brakes on coz the cable pull isn't enough (you can use a travel agent I guess). Mini v's work after a fashion, but if you've got muds on too, there isn't enough room under the cable for the mudguards.

mudcovered

will3 wrote:

it's a 2008 Genesis vapour with shimano 550s

That must be an incredibly narrow frame or fork then. The Kona Jake frame & fork have enough clearance for 35c tyres once you pop the straddle cable.

Oh and a big +1 for the koolstop pads. Much better braking since I started using those. Before I switch to those I was blowing through a set of pads every few 100 miles :shock:

Mind you I had to buy some Kore Race brakes to replace the original Avid shorty to stop brake judder. I should have waited 12months to get the bike as Kona changed over to using those the next year anyway.

Mike

will3

mudcovered wrote:

will3 wrote:

it's a 2008 Genesis vapour with shimano 550s

That must be an incredibly narrow frame or fork then. The Kona Jake frame & fork have enough clearance for 35c tyres once you pop the straddle cable.

It is. I can only just get the 38 tyre and mudguards on without everthing jamming.

barry_kellett99

They're Planet-X frog bollix or something they are called.

I will be replacing the levers too Will3. CaneCreek do a nice drop bar V-Brake lever.

Will probably look at getting a set of Avid SD's or Shimano XT's like I used to have. But to start I will get the levers alone and use old Tektro V Brake arms i already have in the spares.