Official P&b Cycling Thread

[Bairnardo]

34 km today which is my longest ride I have done. Really enjoyed it though despite the breeze being stiff and cold on some parts. Changed my route which provided welcome distraction.

Averaged 25km/h. Is that a respectable speed for pretty much a novice?

[Ingo ohne Flamingo]

1 hour ago, Bairnardo said:

34 km today which is my longest ride I have done. Really enjoyed it though despite the breeze being stiff and cold on some parts. Changed my route which provided welcome distraction.

Averaged 25km/h. Is that a respectable speed for pretty much a novice?

I range between 23 and 26 just now so I'd say 25 is good. I'm not a seasoned cycler though and it's a hybrid bike I have, not a road bike. 

Giving today a miss as I've got a shitload of things to do at home but hoping to get back out tomorrow. I'm quite enjoying these longer run outs. I set my Strava aim to 100km a week but last week I done 240km so will probably aim for 200km a week. 

[Gnash]

2 hours ago, Bairnardo said:

34 km today which is my longest ride I have done. Really enjoyed it though despite the breeze being stiff and cold on some parts. Changed my route which provided welcome distraction.

Averaged 25km/h. Is that a respectable speed for pretty much a novice?

Going out at any speed is respectable.  You're getting fitter and enjoying it too.  

If you're interested in where you compare against other people, you have to take age, gender, route difficulty etc. into account.  As a very rough guide, you'd probably fit into the middle group (of 5) of group rides that my bike club runs (or did before the lockdown).

[Bairnardo]

23 minutes ago, Gnash said:

Going out at any speed is respectable.  You're getting fitter and enjoying it too.  

If you're interested in where you compare against other people, you have to take age, gender, route difficulty etc. into account.  As a very rough guide, you'd probably fit into the middle group (of 5) of group rides that my bike club runs (or did before the lockdown).

Yeah dont get me wrong I'm not overly fussed about it and wont be pursuing speed at the expense of enjoyment. But in the end of the day I am doing it as part of my attempts to stave off lockdown rot and keep fit so I just want to make sure I know at least some benchmarks and have some aims. I want to get the distance up, to do that I need to improve my fitness, improve my knowledge of the cycle path network around me and also improve my confidence in road use, specially as they seem set to get busier again. 

[die hard doonhamer]

Cycle2work vouchers ordered, but can apparently take about 3 weeks to come through at my work, then the bike I want looks to have a delivery time of about a fortnight, so I've got at least another month before I get on my new bike.

I want it already!

[Hank Scorpio]

My bike desperately needs a service. Gears are jumping all over the place, especially when going up hill and I’m pedalling quite hard and the brakes need tightened up. Usually I’d just have a watch of some YouTube videos and have a stab at it but with it being my primary mode of transport to work and back every day and reluctant to try it incase I make an arse of it. Got out again last night and had a frustrating 20 miles with the above issues. I’m attempting 500 miles this month and last night took me to 245, so I’m pretty much on track in terms of how far through the month I am, but the gears issue is really fucking annoying.

[Bairnardo]

My bike desperately needs a service. Gears are jumping all over the place, especially when going up hill and I’m pedalling quite hard and the brakes need tightened up. Usually I’d just have a watch of some YouTube videos and have a stab at it but with it being my primary mode of transport to work and back every day and reluctant to try it incase I make an arse of it. Got out again last night and had a frustrating 20 miles with the above issues. I’m attempting 500 miles this month and last night took me to 245, so I’m pretty much on track in terms of how far through the month I am, but the gears issue is really fucking annoying.

I'm the same have posted about it loads on here but too scared to follow a video since if I f**k it up, I could come a cropper a long way from home!

While on the subject, my chain came off the other day and when I was sorting it I noticed some of the teeth on the front chain rings have either been worn or broken down to much smaller than they should be. My bike really hasnt done a lot of miles, is this normal or indicative of a problem?

[Benjamin_Nevis]

21 minutes ago, Hank Scorpio said:

My bike desperately needs a service. Gears are jumping all over the place, especially when going up hill and I’m pedalling quite hard and the brakes need tightened up. Usually I’d just have a watch of some YouTube videos and have a stab at it but with it being my primary mode of transport to work and back every day and reluctant to try it incase I make an arse of it. Got out again last night and had a frustrating 20 miles with the above issues. I’m attempting 500 miles this month and last night took me to 245, so I’m pretty much on track in terms of how far through the month I am, but the gears issue is really fucking annoying.

Sorting your gears can be as easy as a couple of turns on the barrel adjuster where the gear cable enters the rear dereailleur. I'm no bike mechanic but i was having issues with really a shitty shifts into bigger gears. A couple of turns on the barrel adjuster and it's fine. If that doesn't work, your gears need indexed most likely, which is a bit fiddlier, but still doable without any specialist tools. However for peace of mind, a local bike shop should be able to sort that in no time at all, and for not much money. 

9 minutes ago, Bairnardo said:

I'm the same have posted about it loads on here but too scared to follow a video since if I f**k it up, I could come a cropper a long way from home!

While on the subject, my chain came off the other day and when I was sorting it I noticed some of the teeth on the front chain rings have either been worn or broken down to much smaller than they should be. My bike really hasnt done a lot of miles, is this normal or indicative of a problem?

Your front chainrings shouldn't be wearing like that unless you've done a good few thousand miles. What groupset do you have? I've got a Shimano 105 R5800 on my old bike which has done 5000 miles and there's no wear on the front chainrings at all. Do you know what sort of mileage you've done?

If you don't de-grease and lube the chain regularly it'll collect road debris which over time will wear your components away, especially in the winter months. But if you've only done a handful of miles and bought the bike new I'd be asking the shop that sold you it some pretty searching questions. 

[Bairnardo]

2 minutes ago, Day of the Lords said:

Sorting your gears can be as easy as a couple of turns on the barrel adjuster where the gear cable enters the rear dereailleur. I'm no bike mechanic but i was having issues with really a shitty shifts into bigger gears. A couple of turns on the barrel adjuster and it's fine. If that doesn't work, your gears need indexed most likely, which is a bit fiddlier, but still doable without any specialist tools. However for peace of mind, a local bike shop should be able to sort that in no time at all, and for not much money. 

Your front chainrings shouldn't be wearing like that unless you've done a good few thousand miles. What groupset do you have? I've got a Shimano 105 R5800 on my old bike which has done 5000 miles and there's no wear on the front chainrings at all. Do you know what sort of mileage you've done?

If you don't de-grease and lube the chain regularly it'll collect road debris which over time will wear your components away, especially in the winter months. But if you've only done a handful of miles and bought the bike new I'd be asking the shop that sold you it some pretty searching questions. 

I did google this and read some folk saying the teeth on chain rings all look different by design and wear like this is borderline impossible. Someone had posted a pic which looked like mine and basically was told it's how it's meant to be, so maybe it's just my own lack of knowledge. It's all Shimano stuff on my bike, although I believe its lower end but still, I doubt it's that bad. 

I shall accept that explanation for now....

[Benjamin_Nevis]

4 minutes ago, Bairnardo said:

I did google this and read some folk saying the teeth on chain rings all look different by design and wear like this is borderline impossible. Someone had posted a pic which looked like mine and basically was told it's how it's meant to be, so maybe it's just my own lack of knowledge. It's all Shimano stuff on my bike, although I believe its lower end but still, I doubt it's that bad. 

I shall accept that explanation for now....

Even the lower end of Shimano's groupsets should still see a few thousand miles out of a chainring.

This should give you an idea: 

[Bairnardo]

Il post a pic later on when I'm going out

Even the lower end of Shimano's groupsets should still see a few thousand miles out of a chainring.
This should give you an idea: 

[Bairnardo]

[Benjamin_Nevis]

How many miles do you reckon it's done?

[Bold Rover]

38 minutes ago, Bairnardo said:

A fair bit of neglect evident, Bairnardo. You do know to clean and lubricate your chain?

[bennett]

2 hours ago, Hank Scorpio said:

My bike desperately needs a service. Gears are jumping all over the place, especially when going up hill and I’m pedalling quite hard and the brakes need tightened up. Usually I’d just have a watch of some YouTube videos and have a stab at it but with it being my primary mode of transport to work and back every day and reluctant to try it incase I make an arse of it. Got out again last night and had a frustrating 20 miles with the above issues. I’m attempting 500 miles this month and last night took me to 245, so I’m pretty much on track in terms of how far through the month I am, but the gears issue is really fucking annoying.

 

 

If I can do most of my own repairs then anyone can, it might just need the barrel adjusted a bit to tighten the cable or the gears might need to be indexed which you can learn about on YouTube.  Also check the cassette for any worn or damaged rings.

Watch a few videos first and see how confident you feel about doing it, if you don't feel too confident then take it to a bike shop (not halfords). It's only going to get worse if you leave it.

 

[Bairnardo]

1 hour ago, Day of the Lords said:

1 hour ago, Bairnardo said:

How many miles do you reckon it's done?

Less than 1000 for certain probably even less than 50, however....

1 hour ago, Bold Rover said:

A fair bit of neglect evident, Bairnardo. You do know to clean and lubricate your chain?

Yeah I know, it's not done a lot of miles but its prob 4 year old and spent a long time doing nothing in the garage. I really do need to get the finger out and gove it some TLC 

[Bairnardo]

I have ordered some degreaser and chain lube. I will return my bike to a condition befitting this thread asap.

Anyway, 40km today.

[Bairnardo]

On 14/05/2020 at 09:49, Bold Rover said:

A fair bit of neglect evident, Bairnardo. You do know to clean and lubricate your chain?

Thanks for shaming me into action

 

[dorlomin]

Roads are much busier today. Almost like no more lock down. 

[dorlomin]

On 14/05/2020 at 07:19, Bairnardo said:

I'm the same have posted about it loads on here but too scared to follow a video since if I f**k it up, I could come a cropper a long way from home!

While on the subject, my chain came off the other day and when I was sorting it I noticed some of the teeth on the front chain rings have either been worn or broken down to much smaller than they should be. My bike really hasnt done a lot of miles, is this normal or indicative of a problem?

Buy a chain wear indicator, they will cost you between £3-10. You measure you chain every couple of weeks and change it when you have enough wear. The problem is not really the gears but the chain itself. The downside is if you let the chain wear too much you will need to replace the gears with every chain. As a rule of thumb the back cassette will go first, then the front chainset. They have a lot of teeth (53 in most modern road bikes) so take more of the load between them. But if your front is slipping the most likely is the chain and cassette have worn together but the front has not yet work so if you change your chain your cassette will jump like mad. 

Also cleaning the chain once a week massively reduces wear and saves money. The dust and grit on the chain act like sandpaper and wear everything quicker.