On your Bike

[CitroJim]

Excellent Richard You well beat me! I only made 2600 miles but did do 1700 miles running...

I need to do much more cycling this year, I feel I'm loosing my cycling fitness at the expense of my running fitness...

I'll be back doing a few duathlons this year...

[RichardW]

Ordered up a new chain and cassette., then set off to wash the bike ready for overhaul. To be greeted with this when I turned it over...

Full house of riding frames to destruction think that is the 4th one I've had since I was 16, and broken them all can get the the latest version of the frame for £600, so will get one ordered up.

[mickthemaverick]

£600 What's wrong with some duct tape and a couple of cable ties?

[Skull]

£600 What's wrong with some duct tape and a couple of cable ties?

Or a try at welding

[RichardW]

You don't get much bike for under a grand these days.... In theory it could be TIGed or brazed but it's heat treated cro-mo tube and it's very thin so low chance of success, and it's cracked 3/4 of the way round. Not sure I would want to ride it at near 50mph with a suspect chain stay! And anyway, the new one is shiny

[mickthemaverick]

I've only ever bought 2 bikes in my life. The first was my 24" wheeled teenager bike to go to school on and came with a bell and saddle bag for the princely sum of £8 15s and the second was my Claude Butler 27" 10 speed racer which cost me £56.95. I've bought many cars for less than £600 so I'm glad I gave up cycling!!

[myglaren]

I've only bought one, a Raleigh somethingorother.
I needed the bike to do my paper round and the paper round to pay for my bike.
One of the only two things bought on the never-never.
Haven't a clue what it cost. Half the paper round money for a few months, lucky I had two paper rounds every morning and worked in the shop on a Saturday.

One of my grandsons is a bike - assembler/technician? Their bikes cost thousands.
As do my two sons numerous bikes.

[CitroJim]

Ordered up a new chain and cassette., then set off to wash the bike ready for overhaul. To be greeted with this when I turned it over...

Oh gosh Richard... That's definitely for the bin. Now to treat yourself to that lovely titanium one with a lifetime warranty you've been eyeing up

I heard a big crack out of my carbon road bike the other day but all seems OK. Likely my bottom bracket bearings... If not then I have the perfect reason to upgrade! Mine is now 7 years old and carbon does have a finite life... I'll be looking at Ti next time...

You don't get much bike for under a grand these days.... In theory it could be TIGed or brazed but it's heat treated cro-mo tube and it's very thin so low chance of success, and it's cracked 3/4 of the way round. Not sure I would want to ride it at near 50mph with a suspect chain stay! And anyway, the new one is shiny

Exactly, I'd never trust any repairs in that area of the frame or for that matter, any... It's scrap and new frame time. End of. Not worth the risk.

[Gibbo2286]

Maybe take a look at AMS auctions, they frequently have long lists of bicycles in their general sales. Could probably get half a dozen bikes for your £600.

[Sloppysod]

When I go to the local amenities area (tip to us oldies) i see loads of realtively new bikes available to buy, and much less than £600! Some possibly £6.00.

[CitroJim]

When I go to the local amenities area (tip to us oldies) i see loads of realtively new bikes available to buy, and much less than £600! Some possibly £6.00.

Yes, I'm always quite shocked at the sheer volume of them - mainly kids bikes at ours... The tip near to Mick the Maverick looked more like a bike shop! There were hundreds...

A lot of the adult ones fall into the category: 'I think I'll take up cycling...' One or two rides later 'Nah, cycling's not for me..'

The sort Richard and I ride are rarely, if ever, seen at the tip... There is a world of difference between them and they're just too valuable. If I replaced any of mine I'd be looking to spend somewhere north of five grand easily...

[Sloppysod]

That's something I have never understood about cyclists.
One of the reasons you cycle is to keep fit…so…why buy a bike that is as light as possible, surely a heavier bike will mean you have to expell more energy therefore, getting the same amount of pain/gain in a shorter time.
My bike weighs about 16kg and after a 30 minute ride I know about it!

[CitroJim]

That's something I have never understood about cyclists.
One of the reasons you cycle is to keep fit…so…why buy a bike that is as light as possible, surely a heavier bike will mean you have to expell more energy therefore, getting the same amount of pain/gain in a shorter time.
My bike weighs about 16kg and after a 30 minute ride I know about it!

Good point well made Stu... That is very true and I fully agree.

For me it's all about speed, endurance and racing. I compete in Duathlon events, Time Trial racing and ride long distances in excess of 100 miles on occasion.

A light, aerodynamic bike allows me to cycle consistently fast over a long distance and without loosing speed on hills. I need to have a bike and clothing that keeps me competitive in racing events.

I'm also a distance/endurance runner, light in weight and small in stature with a majority of slow-twitch musculature. In a nutshell, it means that a bike like yours is far too heavy for me to ride for any length of time. After ten miles on yours I'd feel as if I'd ridden 100 on one of mine and I expect the energy expenditure would be similar. One thing I do know, if you and I rode two bikes like yours together, you'd beat me hands-down over 30 minutes. I'm very slow on a heavy bike...

At the end of the day, it's all about horses for courses. Your bike needs are different to mine and again, Richard's will be too...

Main thing is that we all enjoy it... Cycling is a very broad church. We all find our own little niche in it.

[Skull]

My current ride on a soggy muddy day 3 route was a freebie from a neighbour seen broken down outside his house.

Some parts where swapped over from my old Huffy, still cant bear to throw it away and it may yet be returned to service ....

I have tried to upgrade to a Canyon but keep missing out on EBay auctions

RALEIGH NORTH CAPE (FREE from No 37) 34Ibs (15.42 Kg) + accessories

Haughton-le-Side looking South towards Denton

[CitroJim]

That's gorgeous cycling country Skull I need to ride around there, having seen the lie of the land with Mick last year

My Giant Propel Duathlon bike with custom wheels, brakes and Di2 electronic gears...

And my Giant TCR Pro Road Bike... Absolute state of the art when new in 2017 but now very low-spec compared to 2024 models!

Both together, compete with accessories, weigh roughly what yours does Skull...

I love both of these bikes as they have been with me so long and we've shared some great adventures together. They may now be old and outclassed but apart from catastrophic frame failure - can happen with carbon - I have no plans to replace them; my Propel is still competitive...

And I love riding them