Show us your.......newbie progress!

[Eribiste]

My ride home from work yesterday evening was very atmospheric, tootling along in the dark, my way lit by only my cycle lights and the near full moon. Hardly any traffic along the lanes, the moonlit quiet broken only by the occasional expletive as I jar over the ruts and bumps in what Worcester Highways Dept. likes to think of as a road.

 

[Harv]

Really foggy today. Was going to go for a ride but not really safe with the lights I have.

 

[Harv]

My first bit of progress today.. changed my horrid cheap red bar tape for some half decent black tape... makes the bike look so much nicer! and all done on my lunch break!

I've always thought about doing this but it looks extremely fiddly. I don't have much in the way of DIY skills.

Looks really nice though.

 

[Stonechat]

I've always thought about doing this but it looks extremely fiddly. I don't have much in the way of DIY skills.

Looks really nice though.

I replaced bar tape in the dim and distant past when it was not so good as these days, more like a cloth tape. Not sure with more give and stretch how easy it is now

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I've always thought about doing this but it looks extremely fiddly. I don't have much in the way of DIY skills.

Looks really nice though.

I replaced bar tape in the dim and distant past when it was not so good as these days, more like a cloth tape. Not sure with more give and stretch how easy it is now

It is actually surprisingly easy to do if you watch one or two other YouTube videos. After my second new tape I can even do the figure of eight around the levers now. I think the stretch makes it much easier. Can't link you to the video, bed bound still with very bad back and copying and pasting links on my smartphone is not very easy at the best of times and my head is easy too foggy from no sleep and too many painkillers at the moment but I'm sure @Nigelnaturist or someone else can post up the link (please)

 

[Mo1959]

Cold and wet here with the forecast solid rain right through until tomorrow evening Seems like a good chance for a couple of rest days. Just some dog walking as I don't think Millie will wait two days till she gets out. Lol

 

[Goonerobes]

It is actually surprisingly easy to do if you watch one or two other YouTube videos. After my second new tape I can even do the figure of eight around the levers now. I think the stretch makes it much easier. Can't link you to the video, bed bound still with very bad back and copying and pasting links on my smartphone is not very easy at the best of times and my head is easy too foggy from no sleep and too many painkillers at the moment but I'm sure @Nigelnaturist or someone else can post up the link (please)

GWS @SatNavSaysStraightOn , & here's one of the youtube videos:

 

[Supersuperleeds]

Cold and wet here with the forecast solid rain right through until tomorrow evening Seems like a good chance for a couple of rest days. Just some dog walking as I don't think Millie will wait two days till she gets out. Lol

I used the ice bike this morning, though once the sun was up it was a beautiful but cold morning. We're forecast to get wind and rain either this afternoon or/and tomorrow

 

[Stonechat]

It is actually surprisingly easy to do if you watch one or two other YouTube videos. After my second new tape I can even do the figure of eight around the levers now. I think the stretch makes it much easier. Can't link you to the video, bed bound still with very bad back and copying and pasting links on my smartphone is not very easy at the best of times and my head is easy too foggy from no sleep and too many painkillers at the moment but I'm sure @Nigelnaturist or someone else can post up the link (please)

Hope your situation improves soon!

 

[Mo1959]

I used the ice bike this morning, though once the sun was up it was a beautiful but cold morning. We're forecast to get wind and rain either this afternoon or/and tomorrow

Well, my boots aren't waterproof. Lol. Met another five idiots dedicated dog walkers though, one of them jogging with his dog. Don't think my feet would have coped with another jog though. I am blessed with having my toe next to my big toe being the longest so it hits off the front of my running shoes and ends up sore/bruised/black and felt a bit tender this morning. Not sure if it is too big or too small shoes as both can cause problems.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I am blessed with having my toe next to my big toe being the longest so it hits off the front of my running shoes and ends up sore/bruised/black and felt a bit tender this morning. Not sure if it is too big or too small shoes as both can cause problems.

snap! Never come across any one else with the same issue before! My only blessing is that all my toes except for my big toes are double jointed so they tend to bend rather than get stubbed but I routinely lose the toe nails on those two toes due to the problems of foot wear! I tend to go around on bare feet as a result.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

@SatNavSaysStraightOn & @Mo1959 so's mine but only just.
Regarding tape, I do it opposite to that in the vid, i.e. from stem to end, does away with the need to tape the end of the bar tape.

 

[Nitram55]

I really did not think I was getting any fitter since taking up commuting by bike but I have just compared my times for the biggest climb on my route and I have gone from 3.05 to 2.40 mins. still feels just as hard to climb .
Martin

 

[Stonechat]

@SatNavSaysStraightOn & @Mo1959 so's mine but only just.
Regarding tape, I do it opposite to that in the vid, i.e. from stem to end, does away with the need to tape the end of the bar tape.

When I did it years ago I can't remember which way I did it.
Had only had this bike a couple of months when I scuffed the bar tape but it is not bad a have left it alone.
I came with nice tape with plenty of give, they are probably all like that now.
In the distant past I also used to use a type of foam covering for the bars - anyone remember that? You needed a little washing up liquid inside the new foam to help slide it on. However it was not as durable as tape, but it did cushion the hands nicely.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

@Nitram55
its like this as you know, things get easier but we always work at an output our bodies can cope with, with hills we have to work on them no matter how much we improve, thats why thay always feel hard to do, its just your fitness and output levels have increased, you get faster up them, its the same on the flat just not as noticeable.