On your Bike

[CitroJim]

Last evening I was on TT photography duty... I was due to race this one but sadly, had to withdraw

Still, I got a few good pictures

One very happy racer riding toward a significant course PB

[Rp0thejester]

I've often wondered why cyclists don't follow the blue mandatory signs stating they have to be on the pavement with pedestrians. Now I understand why....https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transpo ... 40366.html

[CitroJim]

That's totally bonkers Ryan....

[momag46]

Last night my neighbour came round, her son (the 66 year old one that’s doing the London to Edinburgh) had a problem. His bikes crank bearing was shot, he’d got a replacement and got the bearing out but couldn’t get the plastic carrier out. He was lacking tools so my largest socket and a hammer did the job.
I think he was panicking, thinking he’d come thousands of miles and wouldn’t be able to ride, being a uni-professor I don’t think he’s much of a diy guy.

[CitroJim]

His bikes crank bearing was shot, he’d got a replacement and got the bearing out but couldn’t get the plastic carrier out. He was lacking tools so my largest socket and a hammer did the job.

That's excellent and he must have been very happy you did the job for him Well done! It's the hardest-worked bit of any bike and replacement tends to be a regular job for some.

I'm the exception, having only worn one out. Popular opinion believes it's because I'm so light. Heavier riders seem to get through more than lighter ones do...

Carbon bikes like mine need a special press to replace these bearings and it can be quite a delicate job.

Last evening I was out on my TT photography gig I got some good ones and ventured a little further up the learning curve in the process

[momag46]

I’d never fitted those bearings either, that said, I only helped with the removal. I had changed forks out, like most riders I’d come off and need new ones.

[CitroJim]

'Shock! Horror! Cyclist chased by evil tractor'

It was only whilst looking at some of my 'reject' photos from last evening's TT I saw this this one. Modern tractors look rather fugly these days - which is fair, function over form and all that - but never have I seen one that looked so downright evil

It looks all ready to chase the poor cyclist down and gobble her up... A bit like something out of a Stephen King novel...

I was not intentionally photographing the tractor, hence it's in the corner of the frame and out of focus. That thing gave the rider a potentially better time - she was very determined to get to the finish line before the tractor got too close

[CitroJim]

I did find an hour or so last evening for a bit of TT photography...

I'm now fighting low light on these assignments as the season wears on and the sun sets ever earlier. I'm having to wind the ISO up quite high to allow a reasonably fast shutter speed and maintain an optimum aperture. This results in slightly noisy images...

Still managed to get some good ones In the photo above it's actually darker than it looks...

[CitroJim]

We're getting very close to the end of the 2025 TT season now.

Last night I was finally well enough, although still in great pain, to be able to do a bit of photography at one of our local events...

It's been so long since I'd last used it for anything significant, I'd almost forgotten how to drive my big digital camera...

Got some great shots in the late evening and rapidly failing light I positioned myself near the finish at the top of a cheeky little hill to be able to catch the riders really going hard for the finish...

[CitroJim]

Sadly, the TT season is now finished for the year And the end of my regular TT race photography gig until next spring except for some occasional specials..

Today I processed the photos from the last TT of the season. This race took place last Wednesday evening and due to our NRM and Beamish trip, they had to wait a bit.

I took them in rapidly failing daylight and had to keep increasing the ISO (sensor sensitivity) to maintain a reasonably fast shutter speed and acceptable aperture setting.

The downside of upping the ISO is an increase in digital noise on the images... A bit of post-processing has made it acceptable...

This is Isaac..

Keep an eye on him. He's only 12 and this year he has taken the TT world by storm - he potentially has a massive future in the sport and who knows, in other race cycling disciplines too...

[mickthemaverick]

This may interest avid readers of this thread: https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auct ... -srmu10223

[CitroJim]

This may interest avid readers of this thread: https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auct ... -srmu10223

That was a enjoyable little rabbit hole to disappear down into for a few minutes

[Skull]

I've probably done less than 60 miles this year but that may be a blessing in disguise, the day after my last ride I was sat watching TV when I heard what I thought was a load explosion, I searched for the source having recently done some decorating I checked the fuse box to see if something had shorted, I'd recently bought a ceiling bulb fan from China so that was suspect No. 1 ... but I couldn't find anything obvious.

Nothing materialised until today when I was going to go for a 40 mile ride and noticed the front tyre was flat.... I spun the wheel feeling for the likely thorn/culprit in the tyre and the wheel jammed in the brake block ...the tyre was off the rim and the loud bang from the other night suddenly made sense ...

Skull's - delayed blowout

Anyone ever had this happen to them during a ride ....where it could easily jam in the brake block and throw you over the bars or lose control (a positive mention for disc brakes).

I might have to slow down as my average 13 mph speed is obviously too much of a load on the tyres/tube (12st rider with 50 p.s.i.)

Time to get the levers out ....freak accident avoided Hopefully the tyre is alright

EDIT = Tyre is knackered - ripped the steel band out of the rubber

[CitroJim]

Gosh! That must have made you jump Gary!

Not had it happen to me but I've seen an inner tube slowly escape from a crack and expand up like a huge balloon before going bang!

[PaulC5]

Choosing new tyres is not easy with there being many to pick from. I put Schwalbe Marathon 700x38c ones on a Raleigh hybrid bike and I am happy with them, along with new inner tubes. They ride better than the ones on my Giant Fast Road AR3 hybrid with Gavia Fondo AR Tubeless, 700x40c which do not seem right when turning and a bit noisy.