Obvious Things New Cyclists Might Not Know

oscar-j

in the mid summer a good tip is to put pipe lagging around your frame.this not only keeps the sun from melting the carbon but it also protects your bike should you fall off.and the best bit is,if you ring around,you can even get it in team colours.

griffsters

Secteur wrote:

Oi you lot, let's keep this on track!

Nice idea, i'm afraid this thread is beyond saviour!

DaveL

amusing all the same

Stewie Griffin

greg roche wrote:

If you're using sky hooks, you'll need to ask your retailer if they have a 'long stand' to hang them from.

Dont forget the long weight to counterbalance it all.

themightyw

When buying a new house ensure that it has a side door to allow you to smuggle your new cycling purchases past the wife.

One Man And His Bike

themightyw wrote:

When buying a new house ensure that it has a side door to allow you to smuggle your new cycling purchases past the wife.

Bravo, well played.

rdt

oscar-j wrote:

in the mid summer a good tip is to put pipe lagging around your frame.this not only keeps the sun from melting the carbon but it also protects your bike should you fall off.and the best bit is,if you ring around,you can even get it in team colours.

I'm afraid you're well out of date: pipe lagging and foil tape are yesteryear's answers to this age old problem. If you don't know what you're talking about, maybe best to keep quiet, rather than give misleading advice...

The best method currently for dealing with the issue of carbon in summer heat is to fill the frame with an inert coolant gas (coincidently, similar to what they do with the latest design of gas-cooled nuclear reactors which China intends to build).

The most popular gas to use is helium, which as well as keeping the frame below melting temperatures, also leads to reduced frame weight (with it being lighter than the air that it's in the place of). This weight benefit makes it ideal for use in the mountains. As we all know, and Icarus discovered, the higher you go the hotter it gets, so Helium-filling your carbon frame is pretty much essential if you're off to the Alps or similar this summer. Be sure to fit the correct sealant gaskets, particularly if you have internal cable runs, so that the helium doesn't seep out and leave you back at square one.

HTH.

Mike67

rdt wrote:

The best method currently for dealing with the issue of carbon in summer heat is to fill the frame with an inert coolant gas (coincidently, similar to what they do with the latest design of gas-cooled nuclear reactors which China intends to build).

The most popular gas to use is helium, which as well as keeping the frame below melting temperatures, also leads to reduced frame weight (with it being lighter than the air that it's in the place of). HTH.

Ahhh so that's what these TT guys mean by a float day..their secret is out at last

oscar-j

kamil1891 wrote:

RichardSwt wrote:

You also mustn't go out on a carbon fiber bike in the summer because they melt in the hot sun.

this is a joke, isnt it?

as long as you keep your average speed up around 25 mph,the wind chill factor will keep the temperature of the carbon down sufficiently

BrianTrousers

Griffsters wrote:

Nice idea, i'm afraid this thread is beyond saviour!

?

rdt

oscar-j wrote:

kamil1891 wrote:

RichardSwt wrote:

You also mustn't go out on a carbon fiber bike in the summer because they melt in the hot sun.

this is a joke, isnt it?

as long as you keep your average speed up around 25 mph,the wind chill factor will keep the temperature of the carbon down sufficiently

I believe the main screenwriter of "Speed" had a father who was a keen cyclist, and it was his dad's early carbon frame experiences which inspired him to adapt the 'speed=avoid disaster' notion to the film's famous plot line.

AndyF16

Keep the frame, minus wheels, in the fridge or if enough room in the freezer even better; then ride as fast as possible to get back home :idea:

pawlo

I have to say...this has to be one of the funiest threads i'v read in a long time

Anonymous

If you go above 35.03mph for more than one hour on a carbon frame then the friction against the frame from the air causes static build up, the resulting discharge when the cycle stops can be fatal.

This is what happened to Mario Cipollini who was stood nearby when Francesco Moser finished an attempt in 1994-



That's why Obree never tried bettering Boardman's Hour record in 1995, and no one ever has since.

To keep the hour record alive though, now it had reached it's law of physics ceiling, the UCI said all attempts had to be done on a Ribble winter special in any colour as long as it was blue.

Ondrej Sosenko attempted the outright max hour record by attaching a static discharge strip from his dad's 1989 Ford Escort to the frame but he got busted for taking Benylin prior to the event.

In his defence, Sosenko claimed the performance enhancing product was for a 'cough'.

When cleared for this suspected doping offence Sosenko did manage the 'old fashioned' hour record though.

loveaduck

Fill your carbon fibre frame with ice cubes to keep it cool in summer, in winter empty a kettle of hot water inside the frame and it'll keep you and your bike warm (like cycling on a radiator)
8)

mr_poll

Secteur wrote:

Thought this might be a good place to share tips.

I'm new, and learnt (on this fora) that;

1) it isnt a good idea to cycle in the wet on a road bike

Please post any nuggets of road cycling/bike related advice here that you take for granted, but might not be so obvious to someone who has never properly cycled before and would make life easier / safer...

Carbon bikes in the sun - pah

Never go out in the wet on a Titanium Bike - Titanium (Ti) is one of the well known Alkali Metals (otherwise known as the reactive metals) - when Alkali metals come into contact with water a violent reaction occurs:

Here is Caesium http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJGqC4vXBms&NR=1

Afraid I cannot show you film of the reaction with Ti as the reaction is so strong all video evidence and scientists are destroyed due to the ferocity of the reaction.

You have been warned.

oscar-j

[quote="kamil1891"]

RichardSwt wrote:

You also mustn't go out on a carbon fiber bike in the summer because they melt in the hot sun.

this is a joke, isnt it? [/quote]

i suffer from athlete's foot and was wondering if you have problems with kamil's toe?

ColinJ

I think the most important thing that new cyclists should know is that the best way to get tips on an internet forum is to ask for cycling jokes. You'll probably get 100 tips and about 3 jokes!

Okay - here's a potentially life-saving tip. It's an obvious one, and if I hadn't actually seen a rider who had made the mistake, I wouldn't have mentioned it, but I have, so I will!

If you have the type of brakes where each block is slid into a channel on a metal cartridge, it is rather important to have the channels facing towards the rear of the bike or your blocks can be ejected from the cartridges under braking with potentially lethal consequences! :shock:

oscar-j

apologies for hi-jacking this thread and being a tw@t-i blame the wine! no offence intended.
anyway,i should really contribute something sensible so here goes...
check your tyre pressures regularly,you'll be surprised how much they can change after a few rides

2Phat4Rapha

Be absolutely miserly with oil on your chain.

Just one tiny drop on one end of each roller - don't dribble it everywhere. Run the chain through a clean rag "top to bottom" and then side to side. This just puts a thin film of oil on the plates - which do not need lube, just something to stop rust.

Wipe the chain the same way every few rides in the summer, every ride in the winter.

If you do a major strip and clean, do the above, leave for an hour or so and repeat.

You'll be able to ride for, oooh, a good hour before your chain goes black.

bearfraser

"helium in your frame" and a small powerfull electric drive system (hidden of course) just call me "Armstrong"



Chocolate bikes melt in the sun toooooooo!!

jumbojimbo

After a while, especially if you're heavy handed on the brakes and change gears under load, you'll find that the cables will stretch. You can re-adjust the tension but eventually you'll need to replace the cables.

A good money saving tip is to forget the over-priced Shimano/Campagnolo cables and instead purchase a set of Ernie Ball guitar strings- you'll find that, not only are they cheaper and stronger than the cables they are replacing, but when you brake and change up/down gears in the right order you'll be able to play the riffs of popular classics such as "Iron Man", "Smoke on the Water", or even "Rocking All Over The World" once you get plenty of practice.

bompington

Now you've done it - this thread will be filled with endless debate, invective and rank prejudice between those who swear by Ernie Ball, the ones who claim that there's nothing wrong with Martin and all strings sound the same really, but most of all the D'Addario loyalists who simply wouldn't buy anything that didn't have an Italian sounding name

meanredspider

bompington wrote:

Now you've done it - this thread will be filled with endless debate, invective and rank prejudice between those who swear by Ernie Ball, the ones who claim that there's nothing wrong with Martin and all strings sound the same really, but most of all the D'Addario loyalists who simply wouldn't buy anything that didn't have an Italian sounding name

Fender Bullets for me. And, as the name suggests, they make you go faster. I've even changed my barrel adjusters for machine heads. I can never decide which key works best with my ride though.

bompington

meanredspider wrote:

I can never decide which key works best with my ride though.

A good thing to B doing is to C if you can work in a rising scale, particularly good on the climbs of the Dside loop, makes it Ezy. F in doubt, a good beat can G you up.
Obviously yoiu need to avoid anything sharp, and you definitely don't want flats.

meanredspider

bompington wrote:

meanredspider wrote:

I can never decide which key works best with my ride though.

A good thing to B doing is to C if you can work in a rising scale, particularly good on the climbs of the Dside loop, makes it Ezy. F in doubt, a good beat can G you up.
Obviously yoiu need to avoid anything sharp, and you definitely don't want flats.

PMSL I stick to the major routes myself as I find the minor ones a bit depressing.

rick_chasey

Obvious things new cyclists might now know

Going uphill is always a painful experience > even for pros.

Peddle Up!

Why has no one has mentioned static electricity? It's a well-known characteristic of carbon bikes that the charge generated by rolling rubber over tarmac is stored in the carbon frame giving a potential difference of several thousand volts.

If you peddle hard enough to "pull a wheelie" at speeds over thirty miles an hour the electricity discharges from the rear wheel in the form of a small lightening bolt that can accelerate you up to eighty eight miles an hour at which point time travel becomes possible.

It's all true, I swear.

Anonymous

Peddle Up! wrote:

Why has no one has mentioned static electricity? It's a well-known characteristic of carbon bikes that the charge generated by rolling rubber over tarmac is stored in the carbon frame giving a potential difference of several thousand volts.

If you peddle hard enough to "pull a wheelie" at speeds over thirty miles an hour the electricity discharges from the rear wheel in the form of a small lightening bolt that can accelerate you up to eighty eight miles an hour at which point time travel becomes possible.

It's all true, I swear.

Erm...... Check my post a few above yours...

Peddle Up!

Sorry Nap, I was posting from my bike after a "static event". Must have time-travelled past your post.