CitroJim's AX, C3 Picasso, Cycling and Running Tales

[Michel]

A Cannondale Jim, I shall look up the exact poncy name upon my return..

[Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur]

I'm back It's been a very rough, difficult week and I needed to go offline for a while...

...Sally doing what she does best - being a light van and transporting a load of parkrun kit!

empathy Jim, I (and I'm sure most of us) know 'difficult times / weeks'. Look after yourself!

NB: further to your advice a while back, I'm off to sort myself a nickname of some sort, which will appear as a 'Signature'

[CitroJim]

A Cannondale Jim, I shall look up the exact poncy name upon my return..

They're rubbish Mike.... I kept on dropping Cannondale rides today

Actually, that's unfair, I was dropping riders right, left and centre and on all sorts of bikes too - from Pinarellos down

Truth is that all bikes at a given price-point are very similar in performance and the biggest performance item is the person riding it...

NB: further to your advice a while back, I'm off to sort myself a nickname of some sort, which will appear as a 'Signature'

Excellent!

[myglaren]

Might be different now, or just down to the model but one of my son's first bikes was a Cannondale and he found it very heavy - it was a downhill racer so could be different to a road bike.

[CitroJim]

Might be different now, or just down to the model but one of my son's first bikes was a Cannondale and he found it very heavy - it was a downhill racer so could be different to a road bike.

No problem with them these days Steve, not if you're paying in excess of a couple of grand for one anyway

Which is the going rate for something decent now...

Cheap(er) bikes do tend to be rather heavy... Great for downhill but rubbish for going up!

Generally, these heavy bikes are made of aluminium... people think that has to be lighter than steel but not so... A good steel bike can be nearly as light as a carbon one.. And a steelie is a joy to ride too... Aluminium bikes are often quite harsh...

With all bikes, the more you pay the better they are as a rule... Whatever they're made of...

[Gibbo2286]

I only ever bought one bike, built a few myself as a lad, bought a Rudge Pathfinder when I was fourteen and used it daily until I was twenty four.(Nationals Service excepted.)
When I was sixteen I hit a dog in the dark on my way home from work (I don't remember, told that by the cops) fractured skull and a couple of weeks in hospital, Some say that explains a lot.

[Michel]

It's one of these Jim..

https://www.evanscycles.com/cannondale- ... e-EV280320

10kg. It's not too bad. My MTB weighs 15kg. Weighing 99kg myself, a kilo here or there isn't going to make much odds. I could pay a couple of grand for something 2kg lighter... but I could also eat less and lose that 2kg myself..

There's a Pinnacle and Specialized around the same money which I quite fancy too. I'm buying on the C2W so am sadly restricted to Evans..

[CitroJim]

When I was sixteen I hit a dog in the dark on my way home from work (I don't remember, told that by the cops) fractured skull and a couple of weeks in hospital

Nasty! Only today I saw one of my fellow riders hit a largely hidden (and large) pothole. All I can say is a bloody good job she was wearing a helmet but even then it did not look good...

Potholes and dogs are perhaps the two most lethal things when out cycling nowadays...

Some say that explains a lot.

Then how do you account for me? I've never suffered a head injury - so far as I know... Nearest I came to one was being thrown through the windscreen of a Hillman Avenger in 1976...

Maybe I was dropped as a baby...

[Hell Razor5543]

I remember demonstrating to my elder godson why cycle helmets were a good idea (up until then he thought they spoilt his hair style). I bought two large water melons, and a cheap cycle helmet. We then went to the side of the cul-de-sac they lived in, where there was a decent kerb. I strapped the helmet onto one of the melons. I then dropped the unprotected one from about six feet onto the kerbstone, followed by the protected one (so that it hit helmet first). He now prefers to wear the helmet and comb out his hair when he gets to where he is going.

[CitroJim]

It's one of these Jim..

https://www.evanscycles.com/cannondale- ... e-EV280320

That's a bloody good deal on C2W Mike, an absolute steal I'd say...The 2017 Tiagra groupset gets excellent write-ups and are an awful lot better than they were... They are not far off the 105 now...

Evans are a top dealer I find...

You may find the cable-operated discs a bit wanting... I had them on my old Defy and didn't get on with them at all but again, in three years and like the Tiagra groupset, great performance increases will no doubt have been made...

I'll be keen to know how you find it...

Pop some Conti Gatorskins on it ASAP and see if the frame will take 28mm ones; the ride will be much improved with a wider tyre section...

[CitroJim]

I remember demonstrating to my elder godson why cycle helmets were a good idea (up until then he thought they spoilt his hair style). I bought two large water melons, and a cheap cycle helmet. We then went to the side of the cul-de-sac they lived in, where there was a decent kerb. I strapped the helmet onto one of the melons. I then dropped the unprotected one from about six feet onto the kerbstone, followed by the protected one (so that it hit helmet first). He now prefers to wear the helmet and comb out his hair when he gets to where he is going.

Well done James An excellent way of demonstrating how valuable a helmet is...

We have no choice on our Sportive rides - no helmet, no ride - simple as that...

Thankfully, the message is getting through. It's rare now to see anyone riding a bit without one...

[Michel]

Specialised Diverge E5 2018 (11kg)
Pinnacle Laterite 3 (2018) (9.6kg)
Trek Emonda ALR 4 (2017) 8.6kg

Are the other 3 that I'd be interested in. I'm also vaguely considering a cyclocross bike from Norco.

[Michel]

Thankfully, the message is getting through. It's rare now to see anyone riding a bit without one...

There's a bloke in Twyford who usually rides without one.

[CitroJim]

Thankfully, the message is getting through. It's rare now to see anyone riding a bit without one...

There's a bloke in Twyford who usually rides without one.

Is he called Mike by any chance?

I never ride without... And I'm so sad I have matching helmets for each of my bikes...

[Michel]

A Cannondale Jim, I shall look up the exact poncy name upon my return..

They're rubbish Mike.... I kept on dropping Cannondale rides today

I'll race you. Standing start, over 2 miles. You can even use your fancy bike.