The Tyne and Wear Commuter Thread

andy9964

Haven't tried mine out yet neither, but probably couldn't give a fair review as I've now got two lots of tape on as well.
(the unpadded parts of my palms we're starting to feel really bruised)

Edit: Doh!! Didn't read properly

Initialised

Is getting bloody cold, feet like ice blocks today and yesterday (late afternoon rides with my son up to Wylam).

Aldi front light is surprisingly good on the Waggonway in the dark.

It's already starting to freeze up here, take care in the morning.

Long_Time_Lurker

I have a confession to make...
Until yesterday, I had never ridden a bike with drop handlebars (only had a Striker, Grifter, loads of BMXs and then Mountain bikes). :shock:

It was unsettling and a little bit scary.
Potholes that I normally roll-over bounced me all over the road, I was surrounded by traffic and the thin tyres on the icy roads didn't fill me with confidence.
On the plus side, I managed 60 miles in only a few hours and the gearing made the hills 'relatively' easy.
While I will never move to a road bike (or even a cyclocrosser), it did help me appreciate the trouble our road-based friends face everyday.

anthdci

I don't find it scary at all. You get more confident of commanding the space you need on road the more you do it.
Pot holes are an absolute nightmare, hit a biggish one and you can easy give yourself a pinch puncture if your pressure isn't high enough. But on the plus side skinny rubber makes you go considerably faster. I doubt I could regularly do my commute on a mountain bike, it would be too far.

markhewitt1978

I found drops odd at first but I wouldn't go back to flat bars, they just seem very strange to me now

In any case it's not so much the skinny tyres that make you go faster - although it does help - it's the lack of knobbly bits on the tyres and that they are much lighter.

bucklb

Last time I tried drops (a while back) was on my Dad's old bike and it was the brakes, or apparent lack thereof, that scared the pants off me. Having got used to v-brakes on a hybrid going back to sidepull was a definite step back. I'm now used to mechanical disk brakes so have even less intention of trying my Dad's old bike again.

That said, if my company does ever get round to offering a bike to work scheme I will be very tempted by a cyclocross, but with disk brakes as a given.

jongooligan

markhewitt1978 wrote:

In any case it's not so much the skinny tyres that make you go faster - although it does help - it's the lack of knobbly bits on the tyres and that they are much lighter.

Plus the much higher pressure you can get in a skinny tyre means much less rolling resistance.

markhewitt1978

jongooligan wrote:

Plus the much higher pressure you can get in a skinny tyre means much less rolling resistance.

True up to a point, too much pressure will slow you down on less than perfect surfaces.

forzavelo

Subscribing...

andy9964

Today I learnt a valuable lesson.

If you're leaving for work, and are slightly late. Don't ever think that, having forgot to put on your clipless shoes, trainers will be okay.
I did this yesterday, and thought that positioning the clip just behind my toes, I'd be just fine.
I was.........for about two miles, then the pain set in. The thought of another five miles to go, plus a return journey didn't fill me with joy.
Today, my feet feel like they've been battered with a ball pein hammer

Won't ever happen again

jomoj

forzavelo wrote:

Subscribing...

Welcome!

re: drops - yes they are odd to ride if you're used to big flat bars but you can soon adapt and they are much better over distance. Most road bikes will come with an 'average' 42cm wide bar but you can stick wider bars on for a bit more control. I use a 46cm Deda bar on my commuter crosser and its fine off road - kind of exhilarating hooning down a rough track actually and helps with strength and balance. Having said that I misjudged a loose corner today and slid into a bramble bush. Had to very carefully extricate myself to avoid ripping my shorts.

Definitely feeling a bit nippy in the morning now though the last 2 days have been pretty nice.

forzavelo

jomoj wrote:

forzavelo wrote:

Subscribing...

Welcome!

Thanks for the warm welcome, commuted "hardcore" in the sunderland / washington / penshaw / shiney row & doxford for 4 years now in all conditions, cycled for a total of 10+ years.

Joining in on the conversation about drops, made the change around 3 years ago and never looked back, should have 42cm center to center for my bike fit but prefer 40s, awesome for ducking under the metal "V" gates. Much more comfortable and obviously aero.

jomoj wrote:

...Having said that I misjudged a loose corner today and slid into a bramble bush. Had to very carefully extricate myself to avoid ripping my shorts...

I find this alot on the trail near ASDA washington, climbing out from fatfield bridge on marathons as you veer right and follow the trail to the shipwright pub, that trail has had the bike everywhere the past month or so with leaves and wet weather, I know the feeling.

chrishumes

chaps, any of you Newcastle lot want to buy a saris bones 3 cycle rack? thought it wise to post here as its easier to collect. drop me a PM if you do, its on ebay...

jomoj

no thanks Chris but I will endorse the product for you, they're a good rack.

It's about to get nippy out there folks, take it easy. I dont mind wet, cold or wind but I don't like icy. Maybe time to get some studded tyres. Anyone used them?

markhewitt1978

forzavelo wrote:

I find this alot on the trail near ASDA washington, climbing out from fatfield bridge on marathons as you veer right and follow the trail to the shipwright pub, that trail has had the bike everywhere the past month or so with leaves and wet weather, I know the feeling.

You talking about the steep bit just after the park? That's the only bit where I can't ride my road bike as the surface is too bad.

Long_Time_Lurker

jomoj wrote:

Maybe time to get some studded tyres. Anyone used them?

I have some for my MTB, but they only get used in snow, slush and frozen mud.
The ones that I have are expensive, noisy, heavy, and if you ride on tarmac, you lose the studs very quickly.

Maybe something like a Schwalbe Snow Stud would work - that has fewer studs and they sit on the outside of the main contact point of the road?
They are on sale at Wiggle at the moment...
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-snow-stud-performance-kevlar-rigid-mtb-tyre/?lang=en&curr=GBP&dest=1&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Dynamic+Search+Ads+Cycle&referid=googwig&gclid=CKeaw9uz8LoCFUrJtAodOwcA8Q

anthdci

bloody cold this morning! I looked at the forecast for last night and saw to expect a 4mph headwind on my way in. It felt like more than that causing the slow speed I was going, but I put it down the cold in my muscles, but checking it now it is a 10mph headwind so that makes me feel a bit better. Still slower than normal though.

andy9964

Don't forget, cold air is denser, so it should be harder to ride through. Though it will provide more oxygen to fuel muscles to give you the extra power needed

Anyway, I'm off to buy a hat. My ears felt like they were getting drilled out last night by the time I got home - 00:15

anthdci

Andy9964 wrote:

Don't forget, cold air is denser, so it should be harder to ride through. Though it will provide more oxygen to fuel muscles to give you the extra power needed

true, but by that merit the more headwind will also provide a ram air effect of forcing air into your lungs which gives you more power to go the normal speed regardless of any headwind.

Andy9964 wrote:

Anyway, I'm off to buy a hat. My ears felt like they were getting drilled out last night by the time I got home - 00:15

I've got a trespass buff which kept my ears warm, but my jaw was aching by the end with it pushing my jaw shut and me keeping it open to breathe.

jomoj

Buff type fabric tubes are good, thin enough to fit under a helmet if you wear one and easy enough to slip over your neck if you get too warm

andy9964

It's snowing.............. :shock:

Kieran_Burns

Andy9964 wrote:

It's snowing.............. :shock:

Show off :P

andy9964

It only lasted about 15 minutes, which is 15 minutes too much IMO

Initialised

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Andy9964 wrote:

It's snowing.............. :shock:

Show off :P

Was only a few flakes, nothing to get exited about.

anthdci

did anyone else struggle in the wind this morning? It took me 20 minutes longer than I usually take. Felt like the wind was gusting in my face the whole way, I felt like I was going to pass out by the time i got to work. That is going sunderland to newcastle.

bucklb

I found it a real struggle too.

Was trying to work out what the extra wind chill factor is of cycling into the wind because it felt a lot colder than it should have done. Oh well, at least the rain got rid of the frost/ice, for now at least

bennett_346

Anyone know the condition of Route 14 Consett to Durham via Lanchester? Suitable for a hybrid with slicks? Also what's it like for ice during the winter?

markhewitt1978

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-25068828 Part of Keelmans Way closed.

markhewitt1978

bennett_346 wrote:

Anyone know the condition of Route 14 Consett to Durham via Lanchester? Suitable for a hybrid with slicks?

At Consett it's mostly hard packed gravel with an ok surface. But it does get rocky around Knitsley, but there's a road diversion you could use there. Down from Knitsley area to Lanchester is fine on my road bike (23c slicks) and tarmac comes in around Lanchester for a while - watch out for some steep descents where bridges have been removed. It turns back to gravel again but not too bad and very doable.

Overall like most paths of this type, compared to the road it sucks big time, but it's the flattest route to take. Also as usual swarming with dogs off the lead

Also what's it like for ice during the winter?

No idea, sorry.

jomoj

nice ride in this morning - pretty nippy though. Bit of a wildlife extravaganza as well, saw rats, some hybrid black/wild rabbits and a big fox loping along the riverside.