Bike Riding / Cycling

Any hobbist cyclists on this forum? Looking for a bit off Advise, just bough myself a hybrid bike to get me out the house and to get fit? And ultimately once I'm up to it, cycle to and from work.... But I'm unsure wether I've bought the right bike, it has road tyres but I like canal riding also... Worried about getting punchers.... Lol.... Are there any good cycling forums for the uk.... Cheers Steve.

 

I've been cycling for a year nearly at least once a week mostly 3-5 days a week.

I used to own a mountain bike and found it rubbish for road cycling and better for rough ground.

I recently got for my birthday a brand new hybrid bike with road tyres that are also good for off road bridal paths, although you don't get as good a balance on it off road compared to a mountain bike.

This is my bike (with a curtain pole strapped to the back).



I used to get loads of punctures on my old bike but with this bike I asked for puncture proof ones, which cost I think £30 per tyre. I saw this as a good investment though as I was puncturing a tyre once a month.

My advice would be to take it easy at first don't go miles and miles just from a to b and back again. Do it at a leisurely pace (sod the cars behind trying to overtake you) and your legs will quickly build up muscles. Eating more protein also helps.

 

Personally, I'm a mountain bike person. I like that they can go on pretty much any terrain, so my routes are not really restricted. They are slow on the road though because of the extra weight, rolling resistance (from the wider, knobbly tyres) and drag from the less aerodynamic shape and riding posture.

Hybrids are a very good choice for most. They can do some of the easier off road stuff, but much lighter than a mountain bike and usually higher gear ratios which is good for when you're on tarmac.

I wouldn't worry about the tyres when riding down canal tow paths. Hybrid bike tyres can take some light punishment. When I was a kid there were no mountain bikes, just bikes, and we used to do all sorts on them. Nowadays my dad rides a hybrid, as he's getting too old for his former preference of a mountain bike (because of the weight and drag), and he rides it all the time to and from his allotment and round the local tracks.

 

Here I go Canal riders - I hate 'em ()
A couple of years ago my local canal towpath was designated "National Cycle Route 67" or something similar, probably by someone who had never walked it. Since then every middle aged budding Bradley Wiggins who has bought a +£800 bike but can't afford a bell makes the life of us walkers intolerable. Where I live, on the Trans Pennine Trail, they don't even stick to the towpath, they creep up on you in the woods, lurking behind trees before scooting out and forcing you into ditches, and it will be worse the nearer we get to the Tour de France Grand Départ on 5th July (oh Yorkshire, what have you done) If you have road tyres stick to the road and give us walkers a chance.
Rant over, a bit over the top maybe but true, I am sure you are a smashing bloke but buy some walking boots.

 

Congratulations!



I've got 3 bikes, and old fashioned tourer (drop handlebar low 15 gear that has taken me and my camping gear 1,000's of miles) a 'street bike' and a folder.

 

I know the kind you mean. There is a name for that kind of cyclist, but I'd get into trouble if I said it on here. Most cyclists are not like that though.

The other point of view is that when its a designated cycle route or bridleway, the cyclist has as much right as the walker to be there, but often the walkers will walk side by side, deliberately blocking the route. The first few times the cyclist will politely alert the walkers to his presence, pull over to the side and let them pass, or otherwise show more courtesy than the walkers showed him. After suffering this persecution for a while, he eventually reaches the conclusion that most people realise that it would not be nice to be run over by a bike, so just rides straight at anyone who doesn't want to share the path, knowing that they will usually get out of the way, or if a crash actually happens, the cyclist is usually more armoured than the walker

Some cyclists annoy me with their arrogance, but at the same time I can see why they might feel that they need to assert their rights. On foot, you have the right to go anywhere. In the car, even though the cyclist has every right that a car driver has, car drivers (even ones who are also cyclists) often forget that. But when you're a cyclist, you are persecuted everywhere you ride.

Its about time everyone showed a bit more respect because at the end of the day, a walker is only occasionally a walker, the motorist is only occasionally a motorist, and the cyclist is only occasionally a cyclist. But all the time, 24/7, they (we) are all just human.

 

Add horse riders to that.

 

Mrs LWW and myself were cyclists for years, all of our children still are. One of our favourite holiday destinations was close to the cycle routes around Bamburgh Castle, Seahouses, Beadnell, Dunstanburgh Castle and Craster, we loved it.
My post was tongue in cheek BUT if cyclists get bad press now they more than likely deserve it. In my neck of the woods, on the towpath that I walk, a good proportion of cyclists ride it as though they are competing in time trials. I accept that not all cyclists are like that, I do not accept that the others have wrongly suffered persecution and therefore need to assert their rights by endangering walkers who also have a right to be there.

 

I gathered. So was mine to some extent.

You're probably right. When I ride along a route that I know is as much a walking route as a cycling route, I limit my speed such that I don't startle anyone, and don't flick mud and gravel at them as I go past. Unfortunately not all cyclists show the same common courtesy.

Any cyclist who has ridden on a road or a shared footpath/cycleway will have suffered the subtle contempt of other road users/walkers at some point.

I agree, but likewise regardless of your chosen mode of perambulation, be it on foot or on wheels, common courtesy costs nothing, and it goes both ways.

 

I would say you've bought the ideal cycle. The secret to getting less punctures is to replace the tyres once they look worn. Also, try to get hold of puncture resistant ones the next time you change them. Oh yes, make sure you keep the correct pressure

 

Some of the more serious cyclists use tubeless tyres. Personally I'll stick with inner tubes in mine. The reason being that inner tubes are cheap enough to replace if you can't (or can't be bothered to) mend them, and it means you can, if you want to make sure you don't get stuck somewhere, carry a can of that aerosol tyre seal stuff knowing that if you have to use it, its only the inner tube that will be filled with gunk and not the tyre and wheel rim.

 

I always used to carry a spare inner tube

 

Same here. Or when I remembered at least, but it is quicker to use the squirty fix.

I once had a blow out about 6 miles from home. It was autumn, which is relevant as you'll see in a minute. Being a blow out, the tyre was completely flat. There was no possibility of riding it like that, and I had no tools or spares with me. So I improvised. I gathered a load of old leaves and stuffed them as tight as I could into my tyre, and then forced the tyre back onto the rim. It was obviously nothing like properly inflated, but it was enough to hold the rim off the road and the tyre in place if I took it very easy. It got me home without having to carry my bike.

Another trick is to carry a role of electricians tape. It is small and light and good for a multitude of 'field botches'. Bound tightly round an inner tube it will make a temporary puncture repair, it will hold snapped brake cable in place to stop them flopping about, it will hold brake lever on after you've just accidentally snapped them off by coming off etc. If you take some tools, you can tape them to the frame to save having them rattle about in a tool box/bag, and if you stop at a shop for a mars bar, you can tape that on until you're ready to eat it.

 

Worth bearing in mind though, it's not a permanent fix

 

But it can make the difference between riding your bike back or carrying it.