Ready to start!

[LibraRider]

nice looks like it has mtb style clipless pedals for shoes with the 2 bolt recessed metal cleat , do you have that sort of shoe or you will have to change them to ride.
Based on the OP 5 foot 8 if i remember ? halfords sizing a 51 frame =54 top tube, 54 = 56 top tube

I have bought some standard pedals for on it for now - maybe I’ll be brave enough to try cleats in the future.

It’s a lovey bike. Previous owner had only done 17 miles on it.

 

[13 rider]

Enjoy the new ride looks a really good find

 

[cyberknight]

I have bought some standard pedals for on it for now - maybe I’ll be brave enough to try cleats in the future.

It’s a lovey bike. Previous owner had only done 17 miles on it.

I have had a couple of carreras as a serial C2W buyer , cracking bikes for the money and if i can wangle it with my wife i want their entry level one with disks for commuting .

 

[BrumJim]

I have bought some standard pedals for on it for now - maybe I’ll be brave enough to try cleats in the future.

It’s a lovey bike. Previous owner had only done 17 miles on it.

That is criminal!

Be prepared to fall in love with this one, and regret every day you end up on the hybrid.

 

[mjr]

Re lights, there are tons of good lights out there. My only advice is to use two rear lights. This is because you can't see if one of them stops working. Of course this redundancy is no good at all if you forget to switch the damn things on in the first place.

There are tons of good lights out there. There's also loads of road-illegal (mostly dazzling MTB torches) and legally-insufficient (wimpy statics) defended by probably-clueless British cyclists who have never owned a decent legal light. You can identify most of the decent legal lights currently available by a "K~" number marking on them, by a phrase like "StVZO approved" in the description and by the brightness being stated in lux on the road at 10m, not meaningless lumens. You can identify some of the shoot by phrases like "to be used in conjunction with lights complying with the Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations" in responsible shops like Aldi (but not Half odds who will gladly sell you MTB lights for a road bike without warning).<end rant>

Lidl has been the easiest UK source of cheap decent legal front lights in recent years. Most of their bike special offers have been better than Aldi's for about a decade.

I wouldn't advise using two rear lights. I'd put the rear light where you can look at it and see it's working: probably the back of the luggage rack or the driveside seat stay. I carry emergency blinkies just in case the main lights fail somehow, but why run batteries down unnecessarily?

 

[Dogtrousers]

I wouldn't advise using two rear lights. I'd put the rear light where you can look at it and see it's working: probably the back of the luggage rack or the driveside seat stay.

My main light (and reflector combo) is indeed on the back of my rack. It's not visible while riding. I have a backup light mounted under the saddle. That's not visible either. Seat stay mounting if you have a rack can be problematic, depending on the rack.

It's up to you whether you use two, of course. But things do fail. Indeed things can also fall off (I have collected other people's lights from the road on night rides on several occasions, but I've never lost one myself). I use rechargeable batteries, so the benefit from not running them down is marginal at best.

 

[mjr]

My main light (and reflector combo) is indeed on the back of my rack. It's not visible while riding. I have a backup light mounted under the saddle. That's not visible either. Seat stay mounting if you have a rack can be problematic, depending on the rack.

Yes, some bikes maybe have problems to overcome to do it, but I feel it's still far better to advise people to fit the light where they can look back and check it's still working, rather than fit two lights where you can't see them and they can both fail unseen - especially if using battery lights on a suitably long ride.

 

[I like Skol]

Yes, some bikes maybe have problems to overcome to do it, but I feel it's still far better to advise people to fit the light where they can look back and check it's still working, rather than fit two lights where you can't see them and they can both fail unseen - especially if using battery lights on a suitably long ride.

I still think it is best practice to fit two lights. The chance of both failing at the same time are slim to none, while the chance of one light failing and you not noticing for 20-30 minutes are much higher. Who keeps looking back between their legs or at the back wheel to check their light/s are working every couple of minutes?

 

[LibraRider]

If the roads dry out today, I may take it out for a spin. I’ve been ill over the last week so not been out since last Sunday
Finally feeling better today!

Would anyone recommend any winter specific tyres for it?

 

[mjr]

Who keeps looking back between their legs or at the back wheel to check their light/s are working every couple of minutes?

What "best practice" rider doesn't look backwards at least every couple of minutes?

 

[mjr]

If the roads dry out today, I may take it out for a spin. I’ve been ill over the last week so not been out since last Sunday
Finally feeling better today!

Would anyone recommend any winter specific tyres for it?

Only if it's icy where you are. General-purpose tyres should be fine in rain.

 

[BrumJim]

If the roads dry out today, I may take it out for a spin. I’ve been ill over the last week so not been out since last Sunday
Finally feeling better today!

Would anyone recommend any winter specific tyres for it?

DON'T take your best bike out in this weather.

 

[I like Skol]

What "best practice" rider doesn't look backwards at least every couple of minutes?

This is really a discussion for another thread but....

While riding do you also keep looking down at your drivetrain to check which gear you are in, or checking your trouser zip to make sure you are not 'flying low'? Of course not, because while on the move, especially in traffic, you have your eyes on the road and road users around you (in front and behind). Looking down at your rear lights every few minutes, or a couple of times a minute if checking every time you look behind, is a bad idea and as advice goes is neither safe, sensible or practical.
Sure I do occasionally check my rear lights while riding, usually because I have a 'Did I actually switch them on?' moment shortly after beginning my 30-40 minute commute, but this is not every commute, maybe 1 in 5? I will also maybe check them once or twice during longer darkness rides, but they are very reliable with a long run time so this is not essential, besides I have two lights so if one fails I am still covered.

In my opinion the following is good advice;
Run two rear lights, either of different types or one flashing and one on constant (always the same ones). This way, even if you tend to charge them both at the same time, they will run flat at different times and avoid you being caught out with no working lights.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Would anyone recommend any winter specific tyres for it?

On Cyclechat it is now traditional for everyone to recommend their favourite tyres and argue bitterly that anything anyone else has recommended is rubbish (because they have a friend who used them and got a puncture once).

TBH I'd just ride it on the tyres it has for now.

 

[mjr]

[...] Looking down at your rear lights every few minutes, or a couple of times a minute if checking every time you look behind, is a bad idea and as advice goes is neither safe, sensible or practical.

I see them every time I look back. That's why they should be good broad lights mounted where you can see them. No specific looking at them is needed. Trying to get the two-poor-lights fans to understand this seems impossible!

In my opinion the following is good advice;
Run two rear lights, either of different types or one flashing and one on constant (always the same ones). This way, even if you tend to charge them both at the same time, they will run flat at different times and avoid you being caught out with no working lights.

Even two of the same lights run in the same mode but recharged at different times could end up flat at similar times thanks to chemistry, entropy and friends meaning their battery capacities diminish differently. Two lights of different types or in different modes is just playing a flat time lottery. Far better to use one good light, recharged cautiously often so it shouldn't run out unless the rechargeable battery needs end-of-life replacement, mounted where you can see it often easily.