On your Bike

[NewcastleFalcon]

I am just back from my bike escapade this morning. I'm afraid my cavalier attitude to cycling essentials got me well and truly and justifiably told-off.

I got pointed at and told in no uncertain terms..."You haven't got a helmet on". The accuser did of course have his on, as everyone should, and I was setting a very bad example. He was about 2-3 years old I would estimate, and his brother about 4 or 5 also had his on. Their mum was sitting close by and getting youngsters to always wear their helmets can be a struggle. I admitted that I needed telling off, I should have had my helmet on.

Neil

[mickthemaverick]

Penny farthing uphill time trial rides into Sussex

'ere, Jim, you like cycling uphill and a good biking challenge - one for you next year then !

That could be fun!

I'd have to learn to ride a penny-farthing first

Still, I would have a year to do so and hopefully get competent (ish)

And a cup of beef tea is compelling

The training has already begun!

MTMO

I feel further efforts may occur on The September Shuffle

[CitroJim]

I feel further efforts may occur on The September Shuffle

Can't think of a better place

[NewcastleFalcon]

Today's gentle pootle
I am not what you would call a regular cyclist. I have phases where I do a bit more, right now being one of them.
This morning was lovely for a gentle ride out, mostly along a decent cycle track but a section on country roads.
There was a lovely fresh clean cool breeze blowing. On one of road sections I was passed by a white delivery van. I felt much of the benefit of breathing in fresh clean air for the other 99% of the journey evaporated in the fumes from the van pervading and persisting in the air and unavoidably being breathed in by yours truly. Not as if van was pumping out the black smoke of old, just your ordinary diesel and a pretty new vehicle.

Regular road cyclists must either get accustomed to it as normal and hardly notice it, or develop into excellent breath holders while the fumes dissipate. Perversely maybe country roads are worse for such dissipation, narrow with walls and hedges either side.

Today though, with the admonishment still ringing in my ears of the young boy the other day as posted previously, I did wear my helmet

I got pointed at and told in no uncertain terms..."You haven't got a helmet on".
viewtopic.php?p=809699#p809699

Neil

[CitroJim]

Pleased you're enjoying your bike Neil

I got pointed at and told in no uncertain terms..."You haven't got a helmet on".

Good!

As for fumes, never much of a problem around here... DPF'd and De-Nox'd Diesels don't really fume to any noticeable degree and modern petrols are very fume-free. Most of our old stinky busses seem now to have gone... In fact busses in general around here are quite a rare species now..

Some big motorbikes do, as do some old agricultural kit...

The worst fumes I experience are from old non-catted petrol cars*. The worst offenders around here are classic Aston Martins out on road tests after their work in the Heritage Centre.

Crossing the M1 motorway on overbridges I smell more runner than I do fuel fumes!

* I'd hate to follow me in either of my AXs - neither have cats!

[NewcastleFalcon]

I thought the £5 pump and schrader valve adaptor would offer good service for more than a couple of uses.
The valve adaptor thing certainly did not, extremely femmer bit of tat, and temporarily rendered the hand pump useless as the schrader valve screw on part came apart, and the other end at the pump fitting was leaky in the "hose".

I also have an equally useless "track" pump which literally sucks on the upstroke. That has gone the journey now, and has creatively been used in the following hand pumping solution which does work.

The only useful bit of the adaptor which came with the £5 hand pump was the pump end screw in fitting. I have now fashioned a small bit of windscreen washer pipe which fits snugly over the "nipple" of the screw in bit, and after a bit of heat squeezed this smaller diameter plastic hose into a larger diameter plastic hose which in turn fits snugly over the former "schrader" outlet culled from the track pump. Did a bit of heatshrink around the junction of the two plastic hoses.

Hopefully obvious from the picture, it works

Neil

[CitroJim]

That's a good mod Neil although I can't help thinking you may as well have sported out on a decent track pump at the outset and saved yourself a load of aggro!

I bought a Toppeak 'Joe Blow' about 10 years ago and it's still going strong and spare parts are available... An outlay of around 40 quid...

https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-m ... lsrc=aw.ds

[NewcastleFalcon]

What's the difference between these 2.

One fits my 27x1¼ wheels easily (because its thinner and the right size) the other was selected and handed to me by Halfords after the question was asked "What Inner tube will fit my 27x1¼ wheels?".

The chap from Halfords should have added "this will with much awkward stuffage" to his answer to my question.

That was indeed the reality, that inner tube was far too wide to be fitted easily to my 27x1¼ rim. With much awkward stuffage it is in situ and pumped up with my aforementioned adapted hand pump contraption.

Neil

[CitroJim]

The one on the left is too big Neil... No wonder it was hard to stuff in!

The risk of using a too-big tube is it may end up with rucks and tucks in it where it cannot smooth out properly when inflated and these will act as stress-risers and lead to early and perplexing punctures.

Pleased your pump worked well...

I used my Joe Blow this morning to check and adjust my car tyres - it serves two roles

[NewcastleFalcon]

I used my Joe Blow this morning to check and adjust my car tyres - it serves two roles

Far better than those noisy quite hopeless compressor things as well, and it costs you a quid a time to check the tyres most places now. Free-Air has largely gone if not completely gone from the forecourts of the United Kingdom.

Neil

[CitroJim]

I used my Joe Blow this morning to check and adjust my car tyres - it serves two roles

Far better than those noisy quite hopeless compressor things as well, and it costs you a quid a time to check the tyres most places now. Free-Air has largely gone if not completely gone from the forecourts of the United Kingdom.

Oh gosh yes Neil. My Joe Blow will see off any little 12v or forecourt airline... I've brought car tyres up from flat with it...

[RichardW]

Got a puncture today - ran over a stone and pitch fitted the front. No problem, I carry a spare tube, but a series of firsts unfolded...

1. First time ever I was unable to unscrew the back nut on the quick release skewer, so couldn't get the wheel out.
2. Having contemplated calling for recovery (not a first ) decided I might as well have a shot at a repair, so I extracted the tube with the wheel in the forks (first 2)
3 used a self adhesive patch (well 2 actually) - first 3. I was surprised how well they stick! Which leads to first 4:
4. I successfully repaired a 2 hole pinch flat (well enough to ride home anyway) - normally this just fails and the patches blow off as the holes are too big.

At home I was able to find a replacement tube and QR skewer (I have a large pile of bits, as I am dismantling a number of bikes for another project, more on that one day) - although it was a challenge to find a skewer of the right length

[CitroJim]

Good work Richard

Watch those self-adhesive patches - they seem to have a best-before date... One time I looked to try one they had dried up and were useless! Admittedly I'd had them for a long time.

[myglaren]

A while ago I saw an advert for something called "Oily Glue" where it was used to repair punctured inner tubes among other things.
Allegedly sticks anything but doesn't stick to fingers.

Bought some on eBay and have clagged a couple of things with it and it seems OK. The one I bought calls itself "Tree Frog oily glue".
I don't have any rubbery stuff that needs patching up but the claim that it doesn't stick to skin is nonsense. Ask my fingers.

Might be worthwhile to ensure that patches stick. I give no guarantees though.

[NewcastleFalcon]

While the thread is mainly about, bikes with pedals from time to time a motor bike story will creep in.
At one time, and probably still to a lesser extent today, Westgate Road/Hill in Newcastle was the home of the motorbike "shop". Dominated by Harry Wood's and Ken's Motorcycles with many others either side of the hill.

Never been there for ages but spotted this today. In an internet search, using the term "French Electric", this electric motorbike store on the aforementioned Westgate Hill Newcastle popped out first on the list.

Either this is just a case of the demise and uselessness of search engine algorithms which seem to have "you must be looking for something to buy" as the primary focus of results, or there must be some overwhelming "French electric" characteristic of that bike store in Newcastle. I have never even heard of the brands they are "Flagship Official Dealers For" ie "SurRon Talaria and More Top Brands! ALL In Stock at EMOBA.", and I am not looking to buy an electric motorbike.

Neil

PS No French Connection in the brands
SurRon Chinese as you might expect The headquarters are located in Chongqing, China https://sur-ron.co.uk/
Talaria Chinese as you might expect, also located in Chongqing, China https://www.talariauk.com/about-us