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[Pat "5mph"]

Greetings. Name is Denzil, I am from South Africa and recently decided that mountain biking looks better than garden work or cleaning the pool.
Are there any other South African here?

Greetings to you too!
We don't really have pool cleaning among our daily house chores here

 

[jai]

thanks Pat -

 

[Steve Lancashire]

Hello everyone, my name is Steve, and I'm from Manchester, and I am a brand new member. I actually joined CC last Friday, but have had a devil of a job trying to make my first post, so I have re-registered under another name, and email address now.

I have been watching CC for a while now, and feel I want to get involved, and ask some advice if that is O.k with you all.
up until recently, I have owned a really cheap MTB, which I have used mainly for use on the road, and some off road cycling. I started around May 2012, and have steadily built up to a "reasonable level of fitness, with a great deal of scope for improvement", but I really enjoy biking around, and it is here to stay with me (or until my health allows at any rate!).
I recently purchased a road bike (a racer as we used to call it), it is strictly entry level at this point, which suits my needs at the moment. It is a cheapie, It cost £300.00, and my early impressions are very good, how much easier it is to ride on the road, but onviously not as comfortable as a MTB.

My concern however, and here is where I need some advice from the more experienced cyclists, is the narrowness of the tyres, and how easy is must be to get a puncture. If i'm driving say 20 miles away, and get a puncture, it's a hell of a walk back home with a lame bike.
Should I be upgrading the tyres to a more expensive, but sturdier tyre, or does it just not work that way?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I have been told about a tyre inflator off one person I know, but he really isn't a keen cyclist, just wondered if this does any permanent damage to the tyre or rim?

Thanks, Steve.

 

[jai]

Hello everyone, my name is Steve, and I'm from Manchester, and I am a brand new member. I actually joined CC last Friday, but have had a devil of a job trying to make my first post, so I have re-registered under another name, and email address now.

I have been watching CC for a while now, and feel I want to get involved, and ask some advice if that is O.k with you all.
up until recently, I have owned a really cheap MTB, which I have used mainly for use on the road, and some off road cycling. I started around May 2012, and have steadily built up to a "reasonable level of fitness, with a great deal of scope for improvement", but I really enjoy biking around, and it is here to stay with me (or until my health allows at any rate!).
I recently purchased a road bike (a racer as we used to call it), it is strictly entry level at this point, which suits my needs at the moment. It is a cheapie, It cost £300.00, and my early impressions are very good, how much easier it is to ride on the road, but onviously not as comfortable as a MTB.

My concern however, and here is where I need some advice from the more experienced cyclists, is the narrowness of the tyres, and how easy is must be to get a puncture. If i'm driving say 20 miles away, and get a puncture, it's a hell of a walk back home with a lame bike.
Should I be upgrading the tyres to a more expensive, but sturdier tyre, or does it just not work that way?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I have been told about a tyre inflator off one person I know, but he really isn't a keen cyclist, just wondered if this does any permanent damage to the tyre or rim?

Thanks, Steve.

thanks Steve - I have similar concerns and wonder what people think of putting slime in the tyres as well?

 

[Steve Lancashire]

Hey jai,
what is "slime"?

 

[jai]

Hey jai,
what is "slime"?

oh, the stuff the put into the tubes to give them a protective inner coating which reduces chances of a puncture. I use some and wondered what experienced cyclists thought?

 

[Steve Lancashire]

interesting!

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Hi Steve. Hi Jai and to both of you.

Regarding the tyre question, there are more durable and puncture protected tyres available such as this from Schwalbe. Of course you'll get lots of opinions from others as everyone has their favourite but there are plenty out there.

I haven't used slime but have seen plenty of opinions about it and it seems to be a bit of a love/hate thing, especially as it adds weight which is quite undesirable on a racing bike.

Whatever you do, having a repair kit and a small pump with you is a good idea as no tyre is invincible.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Steve and Jai (think I welcomed Jai before )
It's exactly as Phil said above: I'm a Schwalbe fan too, but no tyre is 100% puncture proof, even slimed.
Some of my inners are slimed, some not (got 3 bikes at the moment, none of them a road bike), I don't feel a difference in weight.
Mind, I'm only a utilitarian cyclist, love chunky tyres (1.90 +), speed is not a factor
Steve, you can fit other tyres on your road bike, ask a LBS (local bike shop) advice if you are not sure of what will fit, or ask on here, in the know how section, you'll get lots of suggestions.
BTW, if you want to try slime you can fit inner tubes already slimed: my local Asda sells them at about a fiver, saw them in Tesco too, at about £ 8.00 - cheaper than Amazon!
Mind not to buy the wrong size for your tyres, or the wrong valve for your rims: I did that once!
Ask away in the know how forum, all will be revealed

 

[Steve Lancashire]

Phil & Pat,

Good morning, thanks for your replies. Useful stuff too. I'm not too bothered about adding weight to my bike, as speed, endurance, distance and overall preformance etc doesn't really bother me, I ride in my own time, at my own pace, and don't need to break any records (I'll leave that to the young guns out there, I have always got young guys on racers speeding past me on the road, and this is not a problem to me).
Based on the two pieces of advice from Phil and Pat, I will statrt to look at strengthening the 2 tyres in some way.

Thanks again you two, Speak soon.

 

[cyclotron]

Hi everyone!

I am a Spaniard living in Glasgow. I've not been cycling for long yet I want to do the cycling path along the Danube, maybe from Passau or Vienna to Budapest, depending on how long of a summer break I manage to get.

Does anyone have any useful tips about this route? It'd be much appreciated.

Thanks

 

[cyana13]

Hi there!

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

and

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Hi everyone!

I am a Spaniard living in Glasgow. I've not been cycling for long yet I want to do the cycling path along the Danube, maybe from Passau or Vienna to Budapest, depending on how long of a summer break I manage to get.

Does anyone have any useful tips about this route? It'd be much appreciated.

Thanks

Hi there, welcome to cycle chat!
There is a CC Ecosse ride next Saturday, have a look here

 

[danjanoob]

Hello everyone, just a quick message as Im about to hit the sack and would be rude not to as i've been browsing for a good few days.

Well, i'm Daniel, 25, live in Romford, Essex. Currently work in SE1, near London Bridge.

Like everyone I had a love affair with bikes at a young age, and really wanted a BMX, but this was displaced by my love for rollerblades which I still do to this day, don't know if anyone has heard of it but the formal name is 'aggressive rollerblading'. Anyway, wont go off topic. Haven't really had a bike since 12/13 years old except for the odd ride here and there on an uncles bike.

With a new job in the city and the last rise in rail/tube fares, let's just say I am not happy to give my money to the thieving buggers anymore. So, the idea is to get a bike for my 15 mile commute (30 all round), and eventually do this four days a week, saving me over £2000py. (I work Tuesday to Saturday and will drive in on Saturdays). Oh yeah, should probably mention i'm a massive car nut but I will try not to step on the 'environmentalists' toes whilst i'm here. I'm not the fittest I've ever been, with a poor diet and lack of consistent exercise. I'm 5"8 and 13stone. However, I've always been a very athletic person with a stocky build and I am known for getting what I want and making things happen, so I reckon I could be back in shape before not too long, making the target of 30miles per day possible quite early in the year.

I don't do things in half measures so I skipped hybrids and cx's and I have been looking into road bikes ever since getting this idea. I'm happy to report that I will probably be adopting the Triban 3 very soon as my bike of choice, with the Triban 5 also a possibility if I can find a significant difference between the STI and Sora sets. I was going to buy a Cannondale or Specialized but I just can't see the logic of dropping £500+ on an arguably lower spec'd Giant or Specialized, and fortunately I don't have any brand snobbery as I'm new to this game.

Will be snooping around, picking up repair and maintenance tips, as I'm a technician at heart, but will also look forward to reading any post I may happen to click on

Anyone local to me?

p.s. can't find a way to add a signature, anyone?