Cycling to Work

[HaleStorm]

Glass does my head in. Its in the cycle lane, on the pavement and on the bloody road. Last thing you need this time of year is a puncture in the dark

 

Wouldn't have minded just a puncture...you can repair them...this ripped a 3-4 inch hole in the tyre however it give me an excuse to upgrade to some Maxxis high Roller 2's

[E_G_R2]

Thinking of the same in the new year myself. Touch wood not been too bad this year as i've changed jobs and commute. Used to go along a rural canal and had regular punctures from Hawthorn needles.

 

No its mostly road so glass is the one to watch out for.

[jinnantonnixx]

I tried tyre liners, but had a pin-hole in the tube within two weeks. Out they came.

 

I've been using Slime (tube additive) for a couple of weeks with success. I had a front puncture; it deflated a little but kept enough air to get to work. It had totally deflated, and took a total of three inflations to 'catch' the puncture, and it's held the pressure 100% since then without repair I had a minor 'pffft' on the rear tyre, lost a little air, but is holding.

 

So Slime has already saved me (at least) two tube changes on a dark canal towpath.

Edited December 5, 2013 by jinnantonnixx

[Norphy]

When I first started riding, I got three punctures within my first week. The guy in the bike shop suggested putting a kevlar lining inside the tyre, no punctures since!

[Griff]

I use the Aldi glasses as well pretty good and so cheap, I brought a HR monitor and bike computer in the summer these are still going strong on the bike.

[hardtailstar]

Really need to motivate myself to get back on the bike!

[jinnantonnixx]

Hurrah for Slime.

 

That's a phrase I never thought I'd type.

 

Another puncture this morning, second one to hit the rear wheel (that I'm aware of). Lost of bit of pressure, pumped it up and got to work OK.

 

The trick is to keep rolling as long as you can, this gives the Slime a chance to find the puncture and your weight keeps the pressure high which helps the Slime to plug the puncture.

[HaleStorm]

Just found out I can apply for another cyclescheme voucher....im looking at a road/commuter bike, any recommedations? I was looking at this 2013 Charge Grater

[jinnantonnixx]

Here's me going to work. Nah, just kidding.

 

[flyinghaggis]

Just found out I can apply for another cyclescheme voucher....im looking at a road/commuter bike, any recommedations? I was looking at this 2013 Charge Grater

 

I've been riding to work on a Revolution Courier Race for the last 2 years and I really like it. I find it to be a good balance of pace/comfort and 8 gears are more than enough for cycling around town. It's fairly similar to the Charge Grater actually in that both are 700c, 8-speed hybrids. You can often find it on sale at EBC reduced to £280 if you keep an eye on the website. Makes for a bit of a bargain if you get it reduced and then factor in the cyclescheme discount on top of it!

 

I've not ridden it but I liked the look of the Focus Arriba I saw when I was in the shop last month.

 

I also test rode a Whyte Portobello before I bought my last bike and it was fantastic but it's a bit pricey for commuting at £700 if you don't have somewhere safe to store it when you get to work.

Edited December 21, 2013 by flyinghaggis

[jinnantonnixx]

This is my commuter bike.

Vitus Bikes Dee-29 city bike 2013

 

It's unusual as it's a single speed with disks. I added mudguards and changed the 18T sprocket for a 16T to get the speed up. My route is mostly canal path with stone dust, mud, salt and grit so simplicity is key here, with no gears and mechs to wear out. Change the chain and sprocket once a year and that's it.

[twin--turbo]

Change the chain and sprocket once a year and that's it.

 

How many miles are you doing?

 

Rob

[jinnantonnixx]

How many miles are you doing?

 

Rob

 

About 2,800 miles a year on that bike. I use 3-in-1 and wipe down and re-oil regularly.

http://www.biketechreview.com/forum/1-general-discussion/21680-comparison-of-chain-lubes#22156

 

I've got a KMC SS chain (no change-up loops). It's got a bit of stretch on it, so I might think about a tensioner rather than moving the wheel back every so often.

Chain = £8, Shimano sprocket = £4. Cheap commuting.

Edited December 22, 2013 by jinnantonnixx

[flyinghaggis]

I've been riding to work on a Revolution Courier Race for the last 2 years and I really like it. I find it to be a good balance of pace/comfort and 8 gears are more than enough for cycling around town. It's fairly similar to the Charge Grater actually in that both are 700c, 8-speed hybrids. You can often find it on sale at EBC reduced to £280 if you keep an eye on the website. Makes for a bit of a bargain if you get it reduced and then factor in the cyclescheme discount on top of it!

 

Just noticed it's reduced in the sale to £260. Good price if anyone is looking for a cheap bike for commuting to work on.

[rickjames]

Hello all; quick question before I scoot off and actually research it...

 

My school is registered through the Evans Ride2Work scheme, but I'd prefer to go through Halford Cycle to Work and get a Carrera, either a Fury or Vulcan. Can the school be registered to two separate schemes at the same time?

[jinnantonnixx]

My experiment.

 

1. Chain

My drive-train has worn out so I fitted a new bottom-bracket, chainring, chain and sprocket for my single-speed.

Normally, I just leave the drive-train wear out, as it's not worth junking a serviceable £10 chain to preserve a £3 sprocket on the single-speed. With a conventional derailleur system, you should change the chain to prevent wear to the other expensive components. Single-speed is much simpler.

I couldn't help but think why back when I was a kid chains lasted forever. Back in the day, we had big heavy chains with bushes, not the lighter bushless chains we have now.

So I tracked down an old-school bushed chain (a Japanese Izumi track chain) and stuck it on the bike. It's significantly heavier and feels pretty tough. Time will tell if it lasts longer and resists stretch.

(I only clean what's necessary - I leave the rest of the bike dirty )

 

2.Oil

On to oil. I did a spot of research to try and find the best oil, studying their ingredients, and found that the fancy boutique oils were quality oils thinned down. The term 'homebrew' kept coming up, so I researched that. It turns out that you can make your own high quality chain oil for pennies.

You will need a good quality motor oil and some odourless mineral spirit (OMS). The OMS is non-toxic and low volatile, unlike white spirits and turps. Do not be tempted to use turps or white spirit - horrible, nasty stuff you shouldn't get on your skin. Use a non-toxic thinner.

I had some good motor oil in the garage, so I just had to buy some thinner.

Add a measure of oil to the container then add the thinner. You will have to apply some trial and error to get the mix, depending on the viscosity of the neat oil, but I found a mix of 2 thinners to 1 oil was good for my particular oil. It should be thicker than water, but much thinner that the neat oil

 

I didn't use an emulsifier or anti-foam agent, so you'll need to invert the bottle several times to mix. If you shake it, it will foam - not a disaster - but makes application a bit harder.

Apply liberally to the chain after the ride, operating the crank in reverse. The thinner flushes the chain of dirt and muck, and allows the thinned oil to penetrate the chain. Wipe the excess oil from the chain. Overnight, the thinner will evaporate, leaving a thin layer of quality oil in the chain. Before use, wipe the chain free of excess oil - any oil on the surface of the chain will be a dirt-magnet.

 

As for costs, 1 litre of homebrew cycle oil will cost about £2 - £3.

1 litre should last a while.

Edited February 27, 2014 by jinnantonnixx

[mats]

My experiment.

 

1. Chain

..

Apply liberally to the chain after the ride, operating the crank in reverse. The thinner flushes the chain of dirt and muck, and allows the thinned oil to penetrate the chain. Wipe the excess oil from the chain. Overnight, the thinner will evaporate, leaving a thin layer of quality oil in the chain. Before use, wipe the chain free of excess oil - any oil on the surface of the chain will be a dirt-magnet.

 

As for costs, 1 litre of homebrew cycle oil will cost about £2 - £3.

1 litre should last a while.

 

You oil your chain after each ride?! Wow - I'd get a chain guard and forget about it. Easy without a derallieur.

 

Luckily I never had to change a chain as a kid (no tools & wouldn't know how) but that's probably because I didn't ride as far / fast or weigh as much as I do now.

[jinnantonnixx]

You oil your chain after each ride?! Wow - I'd get a chain guard and forget about it. Easy without a derallieur.

 

Luckily I never had to change a chain as a kid (no tools & wouldn't know how) but that's probably because I didn't ride as far / fast or weigh as much as I do now.

 

Wipedown = 10 seconds, re-oil - 10 seconds, wipedown = 10 seconds! No worries.

 

I had a chainguard (an SKS Chainboard) but wasn't very effective. I had to modify it with a Dremel to fit my crank and I didn't find the chain to be any cleaner! Oh well.

 

I had been looking at a floating Hebie Chainglider, but can't get one to fit my combination of chainring and sprocket.

 

I'm going to try my blend of oil and new heavy duty chain and see how that goes.

Edited February 28, 2014 by jinnantonnixx

[mats]

You'll still be getting grit & dirt in the chain which causes the wear - surely better to work on that than oiling it all the time. The chainguard you had leaves the bottom run (nearest the gritty road) exposed - I'd be looking for a way to protect that. Also - do you have mudguards? They do reduce the amount of much flying around.

 

You mentioned earlier using 3 in 1 as a lubricant. I might be wrong but isn't that an easing oil, designed for unsticking things rather than lubricating?

[Oaktech]

As the clutch has gone in my car i've been cycling to work again this week, for the first time in 6 months I have the following advice to offer...

 

IF YOU START CYCLING AND THEN STOP CYCLING, DON'T EVER CYCLE AGAIN. IT :: HURTS!

 

(limps off into a corner)

[jinnantonnixx]

You'll still be getting grit & dirt in the chain which causes the wear - surely better to work on that than oiling it all the time. The chainguard you had leaves the bottom run (nearest the gritty road) exposed - I'd be looking for a way to protect that. Also - do you have mudguards? They do reduce the amount of much flying around.

 

You mentioned earlier using 3 in 1 as a lubricant. I might be wrong but isn't that an easing oil, designed for unsticking things rather than lubricating?

 

I've got good mudguards, and I've added extra flaps to stop the worst of the spray. I don't think that there's any way of stopping the chain getting dirty, apart from a fully sealed chainguard. Most of the Dutch chainguards are designed for three piece cranks, not the flush crankset my type of bike.

 

3-in-1 is often maligned, but it is an excellent oil - Comparison of chain lubes.

The guy tested a range of oils, cheap and expensive, and came to this conclusion.

Data trumps opinion, as they say. Perhaps it should be thinned a bit more when used on a bike chain.

 

However, as 3-in-1 is a vegetable based oil (rather than petroleum) it does wash away easily, and needs to be reapplied if it's been raining.

 

I wanted a water-resistant, thin, high quality oil, so that's why I decided to try to try and mix a homebrew oil. Time will tell.

Edited February 28, 2014 by jinnantonnixx

[Griff]

I cycled in today took my road bike instead of the MTB as I was running late what a nightmare in traffic unclipping all the time thought I was going to end up in someones boot. Normally when I go on the road bike its in non peak traffic times. Anyway nice oil tips jinnantonnixx, I pretty much clean my bike after every ride it doesn't take that long at all I use the alloy brushes from the car to get in those difficult places but need to start oiling up bit more going to try your home brew.

[StevieM]

I pretty much clean my bike after every ride it doesn't take that long at all I use the alloy brushes from the car to get in those difficult places but need to start oiling up bit more going to try your home brew.

 

You guys always make me feel so lazy. My bike gets covered in mud every day but I don't bother cleaning it as I know it'll just get dirty again tomorrow. Think I've got some chain oil... somewhere.

[abillybob]

Haha this reminded me of Top Gear's public videos they created on their latest episode *Priceless*

[hardtailstar]

You guys always make me feel so lazy. My bike gets covered in mud every day but I don't bother cleaning it as I know it'll just get dirty again tomorrow. Think I've got some chain oil... somewhere.

 

I clean my bike only when it gets really dirty, usually oil it regularly though lol