The Cycling Thread

Cycled to work today, going to do this for the rest of the summer, only 9 miles each way, but a nice start to the day. I need to put in a few miles before August:

http://radamring.de/

We're doing the 24hr team event as a team of 4 again, although last year we had one of our team crash out due to a wasp, requiring stitches etc reducing our team to 3, which made it interesting.

I'm looking at getting some lighter wheels for my old 18 speed Specialized Allez, any hints on cheaper models/offers, it's just running the wheels that came with the bike, so doesn't need to be super fancy to improve.

afternoon all.

Can anyone help me with how to use the gears on my road bike? I used it for the first time today and it is great, but I have neve had gears that utilise the brake levers before. I have sort of got used to them but can't work out what to do when changing down the front cog, because when I do that I go directly from the lowest on the big cog to the lowest on the front cog, which is then far too low.

Does that make sense, how do I sort that out?

[maviczap]

What brand and model are they, sounds like Shimano?

When down changing from big to middle ring, you should only to click the lever once to change to the middle front chainring.

My shimano has a habit of changing down too far, when I only want to trim the front mech on the big ring to stop it rubbing on the chain in certain gear ratio's.

Sounds like it could do with a service, get a shop to take a look at the cable tension, if you don't know what you're doing.

Don't take it to halfrauds like my mate did

[fizzwheel]

Originally Posted by maviczap

look at the cable tension,

I'd suggest thats probably what it is. Quick question how many chain rings on the front 2 or 3 ? Sounds like probably 3...

Read the section on this page about adjusting the front derailier

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/derailer-adjustment.html

This might be useful to watch to

http://bicycletutor.com/adjust-front-derailer/

Its normally quite simple to sort out, just take your time over it and dont go making big changes to the limit stops / cable tension. Just try tweaking it first rather than go lumbering in with big changes.

If you get really stuck take it to a bike shop, but as above not a Halfords...

Fizz - is the pedal swap you suggested in another thread easy, is it as simple as undoing the bolt and then swapping and tightening?

Also, is it worth doing it just so I can use my Nike SPD MTB shoes on the road bike, or should I just go and buy a pair of proper SPD-SL shoes?

[fizzwheel]

Yep pedal swap is easy, just use the right size spanner or allen key and remember that the pedals are threaded different. The left hand pedal is left hand threaded so it undoes in the opposite way to normal...

I like to have the same pedals on my bikes so I can swap between them without having to own multiple pairs of shoes or faffing about swapping cleats over. Nothing wrong with using your SPD shoes on your road bike, plenty of people do it now. The only reason to go SPD-SL is that the shoes are often stiffer and theres a bigger platform / contact patch for your shoe which means you transfer more power across a bigger area which means your pedalling is more efficent and more comfortable.

Originally Posted by fizzwheel

Yep pedal swap is easy, just use the right size spanner or allen key and remember that the pedals are threaded different. The left hand pedal is left hand threaded so it undoes in the opposite way to normal...

I like to have the same pedals on my bikes so I can swap between them without having to own multiple pairs of shoes or faffing about swapping cleats over. Nothing wrong with using your SPD shoes on your road bike, plenty of people do it now. The only reason to go SPD-SL is that the shoes are often stiffer and theres a bigger platform / contact patch for your shoe which means you transfer more power across a bigger area which means your pedalling is more efficent and more comfortable.

Cool so they might do for now then, until I have decided whether it is going to be a long term thing or not.

[fizzwheel]

They'll be OK, chap I go cycling with uses MTB shoes and he doesnt like clipping in and out of road pedals. Makes sense to use what you already have if you are just starting out. Go for it.

[mattSV]

Same for me - I use SPDs on my road and mountain bikes.

Pedal swap is easy - just remember that the left one has a reverse thread (or is it the right one )

Originally Posted by mattSV

Same for me - I use SPDs on my road and mountain bikes.

Yep - and me Cheapest pair of Shimano pedals (M520 type at around £20) on a bike whic cost over a grand. Ships and hap'orths of tar and all that!

I have two pairs of shoes, one which is a Shimano MTB/trainer type which takes SPD cleats and the other is a pair of roadbike shoes (Shimano SH-R076L) which takes both SPD and SPD-SL cleats (coz I will swap to SPD-SL pedals before too long!).

Nice thing about the SPD pedals/cleats with the MTB shoes it that one can walk about in them when off the bike. Great for cycling to work, etc. The Roadbike shoes are nicer to ride longer distances in, though