chappers
New Member
- Location
- Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire
Hello chaps, chapesses
I have been commuting on my Giant SCR 3 for 6 weeks, 30 miles each day and I love it! can't believe I havn't done it sooner.
Although I started out on my MTB (Claud Butler Pagan). I busted the wheels within a couple of days! the back has a series of flat spots, it's like a 50 pence coin!
I decided to take the plunge and bought a road-bike, although I was advised to buy a Ribble off ebay, it went over my budget. I ended up buying the Gaint, as it was "as new, only used on a couple of training sessions for a traithalon".
Sure enough it arrived, as new, just been serviced and in its original box in flatpack and well packaged.
Now I must have the worst luck; as on my first day of commuting I broke the chain a couple of miles from work. I snapped one of the links as I set off from a junction, it was in too high a gear on the front and low on the back.
As a get me home fix, at work, we took a link out a reconnected the chain, so the chanin was too short for the two extremes of gears in which it broke previously.
Cycling home, again in the wrong gear, i changed down on a steep hill, the chain went tight and everything locked up! Almost throwing me off in the process (feet still clipped in) I freed it off at the side of the road, and got home.
Upon inspection, I noticed the derailleur had bent a couple of spokes in the wheel when it locked up.
I went to the LBS and bought a new chain, but didn't get round to fitting it, I forgot to be honest, as the bike ran ok for a couple of weeks of 30 mile a day.
The weekend just gone, I planned to ride with a mate from work to Yorkshire, stay over in a B&B and ride home again just for the satisfaction of doing it! about a 100 mile trip.
So we set off about 2pm, aiming for 6pm arrival at B&B, local pub for 7pm.
We get 30 miles and I hear a "tinkle tinkle" noise from the back wheel, one of the spokes was snapped, so we took the tyre off and removed the redundant spoke. With 2 previous bent ones and one missing I'm hoping it holds up the remainder of the journey.
It was going great until 45 miles in going up a steep hill, again, the chain locks up on me and I go flying, cut my knee, bent the back wheel.
A local mechanic saw me fall off and while he and I fixed the bike, he asked where we were going, he told us It was only 8 miles away and if we took it slow we could make it.
Off we go, 200 yards, it locks up again, this time not changing gear, the derailleur snaps clean off the frame ("weak link" is it called??) I fall off again.
Now a local guy in his 4x4 stops and offers us and our bikes a lift to the B&B. excellent, however very gutting as the last miles were the nicest roads, and would have been great to cycle down and up!!
At the B&B (a tiny village consisting of the B&B, 2 pubs and half a dozen houses) the landlady explains a local guy tinkers with bikes and duly gives him a ring,after we drown our sorrows with much beerage, he arrives in the morning.
We fix the chain into one gear, middle speed. And stick the derailleur in my rucksack. Local guy explains the only bike shop is 17 miles away, and there are some 17% hills to negotiate!
Right O, off we go, steep is not the word to describe it! singlespeed is awful! walking up wasn't much better. Then we were rewarded on the other side with the best twisting downhill riding ever devised! So much fun, 40mph with a wonky back wheel and only the front brake for slowing me down, we arrived at the bike shop.
Here I found out that the weak-link bracket is specific to the bike and not the derailleur! and he didn't have any for Gaint. However he pointed us to the direction of another bike shop at the other end of town. They came up with the goods and changed every component that was bent/broken/twisted and we were back on the road 1 hour later. Albeit 17 miles further north than we wanted to be, we plodded on and got back home having clocked up 115 miles total distance and 8 hours total riding time, so an average speed of about 14 mph!
Not bad considering..
But..none of this has put me off cycling.
I bought the bike because I sold my car.
I ride in the rain, it's refreshing and cools me down.
The 45 minute ride into work in the morning wakes me up like nothing else!
(When I used to drive to work i was half asleep, yawning along to Chris Moyles.)
It was fecking cold this morning, took me a while to warm up at work!
The car drivers are crazy stupid, and I look at how miserable and tired they are, and smile.
I hope this is the start of something great, and I don't end up getting injured doing something I love.
I have been commuting on my Giant SCR 3 for 6 weeks, 30 miles each day and I love it! can't believe I havn't done it sooner.
Although I started out on my MTB (Claud Butler Pagan). I busted the wheels within a couple of days! the back has a series of flat spots, it's like a 50 pence coin!
I decided to take the plunge and bought a road-bike, although I was advised to buy a Ribble off ebay, it went over my budget. I ended up buying the Gaint, as it was "as new, only used on a couple of training sessions for a traithalon".
Sure enough it arrived, as new, just been serviced and in its original box in flatpack and well packaged.
Now I must have the worst luck; as on my first day of commuting I broke the chain a couple of miles from work. I snapped one of the links as I set off from a junction, it was in too high a gear on the front and low on the back.
As a get me home fix, at work, we took a link out a reconnected the chain, so the chanin was too short for the two extremes of gears in which it broke previously.
Cycling home, again in the wrong gear, i changed down on a steep hill, the chain went tight and everything locked up! Almost throwing me off in the process (feet still clipped in) I freed it off at the side of the road, and got home.
Upon inspection, I noticed the derailleur had bent a couple of spokes in the wheel when it locked up.
I went to the LBS and bought a new chain, but didn't get round to fitting it, I forgot to be honest, as the bike ran ok for a couple of weeks of 30 mile a day.
The weekend just gone, I planned to ride with a mate from work to Yorkshire, stay over in a B&B and ride home again just for the satisfaction of doing it! about a 100 mile trip.
So we set off about 2pm, aiming for 6pm arrival at B&B, local pub for 7pm.
We get 30 miles and I hear a "tinkle tinkle" noise from the back wheel, one of the spokes was snapped, so we took the tyre off and removed the redundant spoke. With 2 previous bent ones and one missing I'm hoping it holds up the remainder of the journey.
It was going great until 45 miles in going up a steep hill, again, the chain locks up on me and I go flying, cut my knee, bent the back wheel.
A local mechanic saw me fall off and while he and I fixed the bike, he asked where we were going, he told us It was only 8 miles away and if we took it slow we could make it.
Off we go, 200 yards, it locks up again, this time not changing gear, the derailleur snaps clean off the frame ("weak link" is it called??) I fall off again.
Now a local guy in his 4x4 stops and offers us and our bikes a lift to the B&B. excellent, however very gutting as the last miles were the nicest roads, and would have been great to cycle down and up!!
At the B&B (a tiny village consisting of the B&B, 2 pubs and half a dozen houses) the landlady explains a local guy tinkers with bikes and duly gives him a ring,after we drown our sorrows with much beerage, he arrives in the morning.
We fix the chain into one gear, middle speed. And stick the derailleur in my rucksack. Local guy explains the only bike shop is 17 miles away, and there are some 17% hills to negotiate!
Right O, off we go, steep is not the word to describe it! singlespeed is awful! walking up wasn't much better. Then we were rewarded on the other side with the best twisting downhill riding ever devised! So much fun, 40mph with a wonky back wheel and only the front brake for slowing me down, we arrived at the bike shop.
Here I found out that the weak-link bracket is specific to the bike and not the derailleur! and he didn't have any for Gaint. However he pointed us to the direction of another bike shop at the other end of town. They came up with the goods and changed every component that was bent/broken/twisted and we were back on the road 1 hour later. Albeit 17 miles further north than we wanted to be, we plodded on and got back home having clocked up 115 miles total distance and 8 hours total riding time, so an average speed of about 14 mph!
Not bad considering..
But..none of this has put me off cycling.
I bought the bike because I sold my car.
I ride in the rain, it's refreshing and cools me down.
The 45 minute ride into work in the morning wakes me up like nothing else!
(When I used to drive to work i was half asleep, yawning along to Chris Moyles.)
It was fecking cold this morning, took me a while to warm up at work!
The car drivers are crazy stupid, and I look at how miserable and tired they are, and smile.
I hope this is the start of something great, and I don't end up getting injured doing something I love.
... you didnt pull wings off flies when you were young did you..??
Hehe