Why am I even thinking of buying a road bike?

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Comments

  • Boy Lard
    Boy Lard Posts: 445
    I sort of see the lights as a way for people to see me when I am on the road, and a way for me to see the stuff I am going to hit when I am off the road. So £20 quid for some small LEDs is all I have for riding to and from work in the dark, as opposed to the £350 for one of these:

    http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/product/111424.html

    and one of these:

    http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/product/111511.html
  • unixnerd
    unixnerd Posts: 2,864
    Aha! Yes, I've seen your hardware sales site before, I'm sure--- You're interested in BMWs, too, IIRC?

    Yeah, I run www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/bmw.html it's been running longer than BMW's own site! Don't like the modern ones, just the older ones really. I only drive once or twice a week these days, much more into cycling :-) I'm thinking of starting a cycling website, time will tell.
    http://www.strathspey.co.uk - Quality Binoculars at a Sensible Price.
    Specialized Roubaix SL3 Expert 2012, Cannondale CAAD5,
    Marin Mount Vision (1997), Edinburgh Country tourer, 3 cats!
  • will3
    will3 Posts: 2,173
    Boy Lard wrote:
    I sort of see the lights as a way for people to see me when I am on the road, and a way for me to see the stuff I am going to hit when I am off the road. So £20 quid for some small LEDs is all I have for riding to and from work in the dark, as opposed to the £350 for one of these:

    http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/product/111424.html

    and one of these:

    http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/product/111511.html

    FWIW at night on an unlit road at speed a 20quid light won't cut it either. OTOH your hope 4 willl be way overkill.
  • UndercoverElephant
    UndercoverElephant Posts: 5,796
    will3 wrote:
    Boy Lard wrote:
    I sort of see the lights as a way for people to see me when I am on the road, and a way for me to see the stuff I am going to hit when I am off the road. So £20 quid for some small LEDs is all I have for riding to and from work in the dark, as opposed to the £350 for one of these:

    http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/product/111424.html

    and one of these:

    http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/product/111511.html

    FWIW at night on an unlit road at speed a 20quid light won't cut it either. OTOH your hope 4 willl be way overkill.

    You could get the DealExtreme versions for way less. I reckon the equivalent lights would come in at about £80.
    Sun - Rain - Snow
  • dodgy
    dodgy Posts: 2,890
    will3 wrote:
    rjsterry wrote:
    Boy Lard wrote:
    ... some lycra clad speed freak.

    And what's wrong with that?

    curiously MTB riders on the continent seem to wear lycra. Not sure what the problem is here.
    It's because over here a lot of MTBers are conditioned by the magazines, and the MTBers dutifully follow like sheep - which is kind of at odds with how MTBers see themselves (rad, on the edge blah blah).
    I've seen lots of riders at trail centres wearing full roadie style tights with baggies over the top :lol:
  • wgwarburton
    wgwarburton Posts: 1,863
    Wallace1492 wrote:
    mmmmmmmmmmmm Tricross..... and get a cape....

    Hmm, had a go on one of those recently... It felt like riding an armchair! Very upright posture, wide bars, quite weighty and a bit, ummmm, unresponsive(?).

    A bit OTT for road commuting in my view, though ideal if you do some trail-riding along the way.

    Cheers,
    W.
  • Kieran_Burns
    Kieran_Burns Posts: 9,757
    I have the Hope Vision 2 (coupled with Cateye single shot plus) on my Tricross for night riding on country roads (Winter commuting)

    Ideal lights, you can see and be seen - so you get to know about the potholes and people think something far bigger than a bike is coming towards them.

    Works for me :)


    (incidentally, the more upright posture is what the OP is after....)
    Chunky Cyclists need your love too! :-)
    2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
    2011 Trek Madone 4.5
    2012 Felt F65X
    Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
  • wgwarburton
    wgwarburton Posts: 1,863
    unixnerd wrote:
    Aha! Yes, I've seen your hardware sales site before, I'm sure--- You're interested in BMWs, too, IIRC?

    Yeah, I run www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/bmw.html it's been running longer than BMW's own site! Don't like the modern ones, just the older ones really. I only drive once or twice a week these days, much more into cycling :-) I'm thinking of starting a cycling website, time will tell.

    Don't have any SunBlades, do you? I have an U-30 but it's a bit slow and I was thinking of upgrading to a 1500 or 2500...

    Umm, this might be getting off-topic...

    Cheers,
    W.
  • shouldbeinbed
    shouldbeinbed Posts: 2,660
    bearing in mind the organic drains on the resources you mentioned originally

    try 2nd hand for a tourer/CX bike

    or look at the Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative range - decent affordable kit. the cross or explorers sound right up your street

    fr lights a good compromise is a Smart Lunar set - $30-50 and do the job without being overkill - better for being seen by than seeing a pitch dark road/trail but fine for normal road use
  • slowlanejane
    slowlanejane Posts: 312
    Boy Lard wrote:
    I must stop looking at bikes.

    Me too, especially when I'm driving. I size up every passing road bike and try to estimate its make / model / frame size / value / weight. Can't pass a bike shop.

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