That's a nice bike, but there are too many spokes in the wheels.

I just had to buy a new Ultegra chain for my Giant Cross City 1, after it was submerged in salt water when a wave washed me off a coast path.

I think I'll be upgrading the wheels at some point. The Boardman's are pretty good bikes (brilliant for the cash...£500 for this one), but the low end (mine is a Comp) feature some pretty duff components. I've had to replace 3 or 4 spokes already and am getting quite irritated by it now.

Will be looking for better wheels that are also more durable, without sacrificing any performance. Recommendations of what to look at would be very gratefully received but thye have to be quite cheap as I commute in through the mean streets of East London, so high spec kit isn't really suitable.

Wish I had a coastal path to cycle along

I'm not sure about Bealonian but anything less than 32 would be madness for me...

Trust me Wommers, you're a thin slip of a man compared to me.

Ah well, I have a favourite aftermarket wheel that is strong & looks the dogs bollocks:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/VUELTA-ZEROL ... 4843d8e547

US $114.97

That does look very nice indeed. Not sure how one assesses the relative strength of wheels though.

I bounced around on them for several years in London, although I weigh 75-85kg, depending on the season, so not in the top range of heavy. They certainly seem strong in the metal.

I just realised those retailers charge as much again in postage from the USA. You can do better that that.

I got one of these

Have removed anything that says CODA (bottom bracket, hubs, cranks) and Magura and replaced with Shimano XT and Avvid. All is lighter and very nice. Have 1" skinnys for road work and a 2.5" DH set for offroad.

That's very nice rosterq. Road tires on mountain bike frames were the start of the whole flat bar movement.

I have some real photos but no idea how to upload them.

Flat bars sometimes get a bad rep amongst serious bike folk (unnatural/unhealthy grip position seems to be the most common charge) but for city riding I think it's the most sensible choice, just because of the more favourable braking position. Which is why I consider brakeless bikes with flat bars such an abomination (ones with drop bars aren't much better, of course, but at least you can point to the track heritage).

the 1" ers make it look really freaky but it goes really well and nicely balanced too. Mine doesn't have the flat bars though or the extenders just a good set of riser bars.

Kinda like these but black and no brace.

My baby..

It was after seeing yours that I brought a Pinarello Treviso, HKCJ, but I was disappointed. The cycle gear wasn't wonderful, and after considering the cost of upgrades I brought I Giant instead.

I splashed some cash on one of these last year, never regretted it, love the bike and love the Campag Chorus kit it's fitted with:

Here's my commuting steed (not my actual one of course):



415 samolians, bargain. Genesis bikes really look ace IMO.

I've fitted a pair of SKS mudguards to it (badly, that reminds me I should really tidy that job up at some point), those that commute, if you haven't fitted mudguards yet I wholeheartedly recommend you do. I almost look forward to rain these days, as it affords me an opportunity to marvel at how dry I am.

It's also good for Secret Commuter Racing as it seems to lull others into thinking you're a slowcoach.

Womack - I have a Genesis Croix de Fer as a town bike and love it - really robust and can handle the mean streets of Salisbury.

Really Groucho sorry to hear. Have to say youre the first Pinarello owner I know who doesnt like it. My big regret is that I only went with the FP2 and didnt splash out for the FP3. Im debating buying one of these for my ironman Im doing in August. Lovely bit of kit but pricey

My dearly departed steed... if anyone sees the cunt who stole it, give him a whipping with a rusty bike chain.

Just bought a 50 buck Rocky Mountain mtb to use on our salty winter streets, which will be converted to a single speed tomorrow. Am now comfortable with -10 degree rides and a little bit of slush.

HKCJ - as lovely as that P3 is, do you really think you can face 4-6 hours in an aero position on a TT bike?

I fancy some new wheels for my bike, anyone had experience with Fulcrum racing wheels?

Oh I liked it! It was a lovely bike, but I just didn't like the cheap Sora gears and other cycle parts. Faced with upgrading the gears, forks and brakes, or buying a higher spec bike, I went for the higher spec bike.

An official thread is a great idea.

HK that TT bike is gorgeous, I would be wary of not getting the use out of it outside competition, would you still use a TT bike for training runs?

I am at the nerd-spreadsheet stage with two bike builds I have been planning for some time, a light 29er and a cyclocross bike. I just need to finalise a few things and then work up the balls to fork out the cash I have been saving.

If anybody is looking for cheap parts there are a couple of German sites that are excellent value - actionsports.de and bike-discount.de. I replaced the drivetrain on my father-in-law's bike last month, he got 2012 10-speed Shimano XT for about £200 cheaper than the 2011 stuff on Chain Reaction. Joost I noticed they had some good deals on wheels on there.

Commuting bike, Though I've upgraded it a bit


Road bike Giant TCR Advanced 1:


Old steel frame 10 speed, had mine resprayed though:


Project:

4-6 hours?! Sadly Joost I think it will be more like 6-9!! Will have to do a lot of core work to get the most out of it but I prob spend 60% of my time in saddle in aero position anyway on my pinarello (have just got some attachable tri bars for it)

AS - yeah I hear you on the getting the use out of it but none of my mates who have bought specialised tri bikes have regretted it and I probably do just about enough other races to justify it. Plus at the Hawaii 70.3 last year I was one of only about 10% still using a road bike.. its all about looking the part with a TT!

To be honest, if I was doing the hard work in training for an IronMan I reckon I wouldn't make it to race day without buying something shiny.

This is real cycling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6-PkDgB ... ture=share

My older son from a couple of months ago making his first attempt on a 5ft giraffe at his school's unicycling club. He's moving onto a 7 foot one now.

Ah, gear envy - certainly get that when I rock up at most of my Tris on my road bike with clip-on handlebars

Still, it is satisfying when you go bombing past people on £3,000 Cervelos and wearing aero helmets towards the end of the race.

Many moons a go thjere was a chap that used to commute on a unicycle. Not sure where he started but I used to see him regularly somewhere between Battersea Park and Sloane St. Absolute nutter but he was always looked quite content.

I got passed (!) by a unicyclist a couple of years ago in Leyton, East London. I would've chased him down, just to give him a kicking for making me look like a fool, but couldn't as I was laughing too much.

Joost - I have some good Fulcrums (ones?) on my Wilier - good stiff wheels and managed to stay true through 6 months of punishment - to put that in context, I have managed to trash about 4 back wheels in the last 3 years through a combination of dodgy roads and too much weight.

Am I allowed my MTB

Trek EX8, lovely bike. Was £2300, got it for £1900....what a deal!

Cycling thread

Me like-eeee.

All bikes are welcome on this thread. It's the pedestrians and motorists that can fuck off.



And the other cyclists too....I fucking hate other cyclists

Ta, hear good things about them and they're pretty reasonably priced (think the lower the number the lighter/racier they are?). Also don't want the pain of switching to carbon wheels and having to change my breaks.

My bike is currently attached to my trainer and likely to stay there for at least another month, have films/programs for the pyrennes and the basque country so no need to venture into the cold just yet

I've got the Giant and it is very good (the original alu version was also very good and much cheaper) but I marginally prefer my Merlin. It's a bit heavier but the ride quality is excellent and being Ti it doesn't mark or degrade, unlike its owner.

[url][URL=http://imgur.com/lFZEZ][/url][/url]

Tut tut, MB. Couple of infractions there:



http://www.velominati.com/blog/the-rules/

I'm absolutely overjoyed that, having forked out £150 to get my bike serviced, the (new) bottom bracket sounds like a fucking antique typewriter.

The BB itself or do your gears need trimmed?

What did they do for £150?