Change come hard in the cycling community

[matticus]

Cables flopping in the wind are ugly. My son's late 80's bike has the brake lever cables under the tape, and with down tube shifters, the bike is really clean.

A clean look, and very simple (cheap, reliable) components.

It's no wonder I got sucked into cycling by those bikes!

 

[Ian H]

My latest, traditional-looking bike has a frame made of steel that is lighter and stronger than anything made a few years ago, and is stainless. The tyres are tubeless. It's purely a road bike, so no point in adding weight with suspension or disc brakes. Riding it feels as near perfect as you're likely to get.

 

[Jameshow]

My latest, traditional-looking bike has a frame made of steel that is lighter and stronger than anything made a few years ago, and is stainless. The tyres are tubeless. It's purely a road bike, so no point in adding weight with suspension or disc brakes. Riding it feels as near perfect as you're likely to get.

953 tasty! ❤️

 

[Ian H]

953 tasty! ❤️

Nope.

 

[lazybloke]

Nope.

Thanks for the info!

 

[rydabent]

Where does he put his gloves when rummaging in pockets or prodding the sat nav, if he can't tuck them between the crossing lines?

None of my 3 sons, nor I use gloves. In my case since I ride a recumbent trike there is no need.

 

[rydabent]

If you stopped 100 cyclists at random you'd be lucky to find one who carried anymore than a multi tool and a spare tube.

In my case as a life long technician, I carry far more than that in my trunk pack. I do not like to walk home.

 

[PaulSB]

But the thing is, you have to really neglect a bike before you get to the point where a cable is likely to actually break. It's exactly the same argument people use when they say Di2 only lets you down if you forget to charge the battery: mechanical gears don't really go wrong unless seriously neglected.

I agree, it is the same argument. A well maintained bike is highly unlikely to let one down. I've never had a bike fail on me other than a shredded tubeless tyre when I rode over a broken beer bottle.

If you stopped 100 cyclists at random you'd be lucky to find one who carried anymore than a multi tool and a spare tube.

Myself and my buddies do carry a little more than this, not much though. I see no reason to carry more kit. Well maintained bikes don't fail mid-ride. I recently read a comment on CC to the effect "I don't want to ride a bike I can't fix at the roadside." The context was the poster carried enough kit to fix just about anything.

I truly don't understand how or when people have serious mechanicals that need fixing at the roadside. I never see it happen to me or anyone I ride with.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

I truly don't understand how or when people have serious mechanicals that need fixing at the roadside. I never see it happen to me or anyone I ride with.

I usually carry a couple of spare tubes and a repair kit, some zip ties, tyre levers and a multi tool with a chain breaker. The chain tool has helped me out of the shoot a few times over the years, saving me a long walk home in the process!

 

[lazybloke]

None of my 3 sons, nor I use gloves. In my case since I ride a recumbent trike there is no need.

Your hands don't get cold on a recumbent?

 

[Paulus]

Your hands don't get cold on a recumbent?

I suppose it could have some kind of fairing so it keeps the wind off of the hands.

 

[ColinJ]

Myself and my buddies do carry a little more than this, not much though. I see no reason to carry more kit.

If your multitool includes a chain breaker then you are probably right.

Well maintained bikes don't fail mid-ride.

Usually true.

I have had a few serious bike problems over the years but some of those were my own fault... A broken square taper crank was possibly caused by me overtightening a bolt. A broken seat clamp definitely was, and so was a stem bolt pulling the thread out of the stem body.

I truly don't understand how or when people have serious mechanicals that need fixing at the roadside. I never see it happen to me or anyone I ride with.

I have had spokes snap, and so have riders with me. It is usually possibly to get the bike rideable just using a multitool.

I have had and seen multiple broken chains. Chain tool time!

Lost bolts, jockey wheels... Whoever didn't tighten them properly!

Fork failure due to rust... That didn't happen overnight and should have been spotted developing by the bike's owner.

Tyre worn through by a brake block rubbing against the tyre wall - adjust brakes properly.

Seatpost snapping! That one was a freak failure that happened on a mate's bike. He nearly gave himself rectal surgery on the broken end. There wasn't enough post left to get the saddle to a decent height so he rode back to the car standing up, with the saddle in his jersey pocket.

Rear mech into wheel causing catastrophic damage. We managed to remove the mech, shorten and rejoin the chain to create a singlespeed bike, straighten the wheel enough to ride it, and take the rear brake off because the wheel wasn't straight enough for that! All of those jobs done with a multitool. (The problem was caused by airport baggage handlers dropping the bike and bending the mech hanger. The owner had straightened it by hand at the hotel but the hanger failed out on the road.)

 

[tyred]

Unless I'm staying fairly local, I tend to carry a lot of tools. Most of my long rides take me into sparsely populated areas and as I live alone, there's nobody to phone for rescue. I like to be prepared.

 

[Alex321]

If you stopped 100 cyclists at random you'd be lucky to find one who carried anymore than a multi tool and a spare tube.

It is incredibly rare you are likely to need much more than that, so long as the multi tool includes a chain breaker.

I carry a multi tool (with breaker), tyre levers, spare tube and puncture repair kit (in case of a second puncture). The multitool has hex keys for every hex bolt on my bike (and everything is hex bolts nowadays, apart from the ones holding the disc brake pads in).

What else could I carry that would be likely to make a difference out on the road?

 

[roubaixtuesday]

It is incredibly rare you are likely to need much more than that, so long as the multi tool includes a chain breaker.

I carry a multi tool (with breaker), tyre levers, spare tube and puncture repair kit (in case of a second puncture). The multitool has hex keys for every hex bolt on my bike (and everything is hex bolts nowadays, apart from the ones holding the disc brake pads in).

What else could I carry that would be likely to make a difference out on the road?

Gear cable and something to remove the tiny screw from the access hatch on the STI for me

(bitter experience after doing the second 50 of a century on two gears...)