# A trifle draughty



## Auntie Helen (9 Jan 2009)

I've been out in the arctic weather on my trike over the last couple of days, really enjoying the beautiful rural scenery round here. Problem is, when I get home my buttocks are absolutely frozen! I think it's being so near to the ground with the wind whistling about. The rest of me is toasty warm but my bum, sitting on that seat, is suffering. Has anyone got any recommendations, apart from stuffing random bits of material down my trousers?


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## byegad (9 Jan 2009)

Helen, if you are wearing normal cycling longs try a thin thermal layer like you can buy in most outdoors shops. 
This year I'm use some winter weight Altura longs with no problems at this time of the year. Previous winters I've used some Spring/Autumn weight Altura longs with said light weight thermal longs under them. Both options or toasty!


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## Willow (9 Jan 2009)

heat up one of those microwave warmer things and sit on it - we did that at work this week when the heating wasn't working!


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## Riding in Circles (9 Jan 2009)

Electric pants?


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## Riding in Circles (9 Jan 2009)

User3143 said:


> I tuck my tracksuit bottoms into my socks.



But what do you do when riding your trike?


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## BentMikey (10 Jan 2009)

If you're wearing normal cycling shorts/bibs the pad is a great help to keep your man/lady tackle warm.


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## summerdays (10 Jan 2009)

Not being completely sure of the design of the saddle of a recumbent (or is it a seat if its recumbent?), but could you put a bit of fleece material between you and it? or wear an extra layer - pair of shorts?


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## squeaker (10 Jan 2009)

I knew there was a good reason for using a hardshell seat


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## MePower (10 Jan 2009)

If its a saddle, get a stretchy lycra seat cover and tape the gel hand warmers under it, comfort and warmth!  Might feel like you`ve had a happy wee though


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## Auntie Helen (10 Jan 2009)

It's a mesh seat rather than a saddle. It's got a foam inlay which I could possibly replace with a heated pad, but my upper thighs (not resting on anything apart from cold, cold winter air) also get cold. I think perhaps a pair of shorts would be wise but I don't have any. Perhaps I'll see if I can find some thermal knee-length undershorts. How fetching!


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## wafflycat (10 Jan 2009)

I wear:-

padded cycle shorts
longjohns
bikesters

Keeps most of the chill out of the delicate parts


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## LeeW (10 Jan 2009)

I know someone has to mention it: Full fairing


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## Auntie Helen (10 Jan 2009)

Yes, I might think about a fairing (at least part) for next Winter.

Had an interesting problem this morning. I'd been out cycling at 7pm last night in freezing fog (not much fun). When I got the bike out this morning to do my grocery shopping route (14 miles) I realised my rhs brake wasn't working. I got Uncle James to sort it out for me which involved lots of oil down the cable as it had corroded a little.

He decided to come with me on the shopping trip and off we set, after the hiatus caused by the non-brake. Within 100 yards I realised I had no rear gears! So we went home again, Uncle James moved the mech with his hands whilst I turned the pedals with my hand and it fixed itself. Off we set again.

It was only after I switched onto the big chainring coming down a hill that I realised I may have stored up trouble for myself on the return trip, going up the hill. And indeed I had, the front chainring gear changer wasn't working either, now! Fortunately if I leaned forward in the saddle and pushed the widget it would change down.

The bike could clearly do with a good oil and general service, but I wonder if I'm going to have the same problem when I leave home at 9am tomorrow morning to go to choir practice before the church service. Do bikes become unserviceable in cold weather? Is this just because I went out in freezing fog the night before and the bike got very damp?

On another note, I still had cold buttocks and upper thighs today


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## peanut (10 Jan 2009)

Try and get hold of a cat duvet that 'l keep ya bum warm. The duvet dummy not the cat .. tsk ..


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## Auntie Helen (10 Jan 2009)

Cat duvet, good thought! Not sure the dog would ever speak to me again though!


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## gavintc (10 Jan 2009)

You could do the pro cyclist / tramp thing and use a newspaper. Excellent insulation properties.


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## LeeW (10 Jan 2009)

Another reason to get a velomobile. On the Quest and most other models, all the oily bits are on the inside which means they barely ever need attention. On my old Quest I managed 12k miles in all weathers with the only drive train maintenance being oiling the chain every month or so.


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## byegad (10 Jan 2009)

Try a Streamer Fairing, it certainly cuts down on leg chill.


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## Fiona N (10 Jan 2009)

I was really lucky a few years ago when I was living in Northern Italy (typical Sunday ride was ca.100 miles in -5C but sunny) that I found a pair (doesn't seem quite the correct word) of Descente all-in-ones (i.e. leg-hugging longs + vest-style top - rather more substantial than your usual bib tights) in very windproof Roubaix-type fleecey stuff. There's no pad so they're ideal for winter 'bent riding with a windproof top. 

I've no idea whether such things are available in the UK but can recommend them if you can get them (though it has to be said, they were fairly expensive). They're a bit warm for UK conditions usually but the last few weeks have been ideal 

Perhaps more practically, a pair of lycra running shorts (of the fitted rather than flappy variety) under the normal leggings are usually good for keeping the butt and hamstrings warm and supported.


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## Riding in Circles (10 Jan 2009)

You may want to check that your gear cables have proper outers on them, often you find they are brake cable outers which are prone to corrosion.


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## xpc316e (11 Jan 2009)

*Freezing Fog*

It doesn't sound like anything other than freezing fog has caused your gear brake problems. Water can drain down into the low loops of cables that recumbents have and then freeze in this weather; that means brakes and gears do not work.

Remember that Felixstowe Docks have been shut because of all the fog freezing on their cranes and making them inoperative - if it can stop a crane, it'll find halting a trike is child's play.


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## mickle (11 Jan 2009)

Tis *H2O* in't cables. Happened to the cables of the hand brake on my Corrado recently. Replace it with some lube.


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## Auntie Helen (11 Jan 2009)

Well the cables all worked fine on this morning's ride (9am, 2 degrees outside, plenty of frost) so that was good, plus I wore some shorts over my cycling trousers and had a more comfortable-temperature behind.

However I managed to break my chain as I reached my destination (after 7.5 miles) so that was DEAD annoying - I didn't have a chain tool with me. In the end I borrowed my husband's trike to cycle home and get the car whilst he had a cup of coffee. Tomorrow the trike is going in for its service, it clearly needs it after 3k miles.


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## BentMikey (11 Jan 2009)

I always carry a chain tool, and a 9spd powerlink usually. I used to carry an 8 spd powerlink too, but haven't got any in the tool roll at the moment. If I can help another cyclist with a deflation, or a broken chain it makes my whole day.


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## Auntie Helen (11 Jan 2009)

I thought chain breaks were pretty rare so was a bit surprised it happened, although after the punishment of the cold my trike has suffered recently I suppose I shouldn't be so surprised.

I have the 9spd powerlink and chain tool at home. I don't think that I'll take to carrying them around on a daily basis, however, as it adds weight to the tools. I'm off on a cycle tour on my own in Germany in May and need to think very carefully, before then, as to what I should take and what I can reasonably safely leave behind.


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## CopperBrompton (12 Jan 2009)

I can recommend long-johns for the weather we've had lately. Went out for a 27-mile ride in -7 temps. Thanks to thermal underwear, long trousers tucked into winter socks, a fleece and a balaclava, I was toasty. :-)


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## Amanda P (12 Jan 2009)

Long johns are the answer. Lots of outdoor workers wear them (but don't usually like to talk about it!)

I get a very cold arse on my mesh-seat recumbent. A bit of foam sleeping mat tucked between the two layers of mesh helps a lot. Long johns and/or a fairing do the rest.

They don't stop my control cables from freezing though.


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## arallsopp (12 Jan 2009)

I wear running tights under a pair of baggy shorts, and that seems to work pretty well. The shorts have ties just below the knee which stops them balooning up on descents. If I'm getting hot in personal places, or fancy a rainwater enema, I undo them a little.

I gave up trying to find a decent pair of cycling tights, as most were baggy around the ankle (right where the wind is) or insisted on having rear facing zip pockets (not great on a bent).

On the plus side, bents do at least allow you to use non cycle specific stretch wear without having to deal with the opacity destroying reach from butt to bar.


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## BentMikey (12 Jan 2009)

Auntie Helen said:


> I thought chain breaks were pretty rare so was a bit surprised it happened



Well now you know to carry one, they aren't that uncommon!


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## BentMikey (12 Jan 2009)

I never thought whether the chain length would make any difference, I suppose it would! I still carry one on an upright though.


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## Riding in Circles (12 Jan 2009)

I have never had a chain snap on a trike, I have a customer who had a problem once but I think it was a damaged chain.


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## andharwheel (12 Jan 2009)

Before I put my Windcheetah in the full fairing, I often found that on cold days the bottom half of my body had to keep warm by wearing decent longs. I never felt much cold on upper body, always my legs.


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## Auntie Helen (12 Jan 2009)

The chain break was right in the middle of a link, the metal just gave way. Perhaps a weak spot, perhaps the cold weather made it extra brittle, who knows. My baby is now with my excellent LBS being thoroughly serviced.

I went out on Uncle James's Trice QNT today. The narrower gap between the wheels is noticeable (I can't do really sharp corners as my lady-hips get in the way) but I also noticed that his rear mech seems quicker and quieter than mine, although the front is less good. His skinny Slick tyres make it seem easier to pedal; oh, and his cycle computer overreads significantly!


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## byegad (12 Jan 2009)

Helen you may want to look at buying a 'better' chain. 3000 miles to a failure sounds quite short to me. I have used SRAM PC951 chains for some time with no failures.


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## Auntie Helen (12 Jan 2009)

Well the LBS sell horrendously-expensive carbon bikes and loads of Campagnolo gear so I suspect they'll put something fairly decent on it.


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## Amanda P (12 Jan 2009)

I read about chain failures somewhere recently.

When a side plate breaks (like what yours did, Auntie), they say that it's likely a rivet wasn't fastened properly, and came away from one of the side plates. The other side plate on that link then takes all the strain, and flexes as it does so.

Eventually, it can't take any more and it breaks.

A couple of years back, I foolishly ignored advice not to fasten a Shimano chain except with the special rivet provided, and just broke and re-fixed a normal rivet to remove and re-fit the chain. Sure enough, six months or so later, a link failed in exactly the way I've described. It was a recumbent, too. Possibly having to join three chains up gives a greater chance of one of the joined rivets failing.

It's possible someone did this on your bike - was it a Shimano chain? You never know what bike shop mechanics will do when you're not watching...


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## Auntie Helen (12 Jan 2009)

The bike (including chain) was set up for me by Kevin at D-Tek so I would imagine it had a reasonable quality chain. We did remove a few links after I got used to the bike and got my boom length sorted, so perhaps in doing that (and fighting hard with the irritating undoable links) we slightly upset one. Who knows!


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## Amanda P (12 Jan 2009)

Auntie Helen said:
 

> The bike (including chain) was set up for me by Kevin at D-Tek so I would imagine it had a reasonable quality chain.


Kevin knows his stuff.


> We did remove a few links after I got used to the bike and got my boom length sorted, so perhaps in doing that (and fighting hard with the irritating undoable links) we slightly upset one. Who knows!



If it was a Shimano chain, it's quite likely. But of course the main thing is that it's fixed now!


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## Auntie Helen (12 Jan 2009)

Well it's not fixed JUST now, they're doing it tomorrow or Wednesday, but I will be very relieved to know it's all well sorted.

I had hoped to just have a mega service once per year but I think as I ride all year round, including grotty weather, on fairly rough rural roads, I ought to schedule a proper service twice per year; hopefully if I shell out on those I'll forestall any seriously expensive problems in the future. Maybe.

I do want to be sure all is well with the bike before I go off on my German tour on my own. I'm not the most practical of people, although I could hopefully fix most relatively straightforward problems (I can do punctures, after all), but am hoping if something more significant occurred then other passing cyclists would help. After all, we're one big happy family - and I speak the lingo so that should help too. "Meine Kette ist zerbrochen!" will hopefully not pass my lips, however.


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## squeaker (13 Jan 2009)

*Strange failure?*



Auntie Helen said:


> The chain break was right in the middle of a link, the metal just gave way.


Hmm, do you really mean 'right in the middle'? That's a wierd place to fail: IME the outer links usually crack out from the rivet holes. Got any pix?


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## Auntie Helen (13 Jan 2009)

Sadly no pix, I didn't look that closely at it, but Uncle James looked at it and was a little surprised. What I did notice was that there was a sharp edge of metal on both halves of the chain where it had broken, it wasn't that one end had a complete link and the other half a one, both ends had half links. I'm probably talking rubbish here, sorry! 

The chain went to the LBS for them to have a look at it in case it casts any light on anything. We also took my old tyres to them so they could see the slight case of toe-in that the trike had and hopefully fix that.


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## byegad (13 Jan 2009)

SRAM's Power Links are good. The fact that my Trikes have three in each of their chains means removing a chain is a breeze, just find one of the links and squeeze it off. You CAN do this by hand if you want to get dirty hands or use the special Park Tool to unlink it cleanly. I carry a chain tool and a couple of spare links and a spare few links of chain on each trike. My theory is that if I do this I'll never need them!


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