Tag: bike shed

#365daysofbiking Too low for comfort

Monday, September 21st 2020 – The fascination with other people’s bikes continues, as does the bafflement with some modern bike technical fashions.

In a familiar customer bike shed, a new bike I think might be a Marin is locked with a Poundland cheese string bike lock (but thankfully this shed has a very securely locked door). It’s a nice, fairly high-end equipped bike, with SRAM (that’s Sachs for the oldies) gears. It’s what I would class a ‘forest bike’ – it’s not really a full MTB but not a hybrid. It would be at home on Cannock Chase’s midway trails or rough canal towpaths.

The bike has remarkable gearing arrangement, that’s sadly fashionable – a single front ring, which is tiny and an eyewateringly wide rear sprocket range.

I note it’s been left in the lowest of gears.

Why?

The gearing is utterly rubbish for road use.

I was talking to a pal about this the other day. I’m tying to build a decent derailleur setup at the moment, but there’s no longer the crossover between road and MTB gear sets where you can get a massive range for excellent touring use by mixing and matching. It’s either this stupidity, which necessitates a huge rear mech just waiting to get smashed off by a stump, or the low range and boredom of road group sets.

I know it’s fashion, like the frankly ludicrous fat bike fad, and we’ll swing back to doubles and triples when the spinning kids want to go a bit faster than15mph downhill. But I wish it would pass.

It comes to something when a basic hub gear offers 25% wider range than most mountain group sets.

Rant over. For now.

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July 16th – In the bike shed at Telford, something that worries and irritates me.

So many companies sell seat post mounting rear lights and reflectors, which seem like a good idea.

Until the rider wears a jacket that overhangs the saddle. Or uses a carrier.

I’m surprised this issue never, ever seems to have been addressed.

May 31st – At Telford, the Cycle-to-Work scheme has been a great success. This project of the previous administration, like most things, has been severely curtailed, but it’s still a decent deal. I used to be one of only a couple of cyclists here, but now, on this summer morning, there’s barely room for my bike in the shed, and they’re due to erect another. Each one of these bikes represents a car not taking part in Telford’s rush hour, which has to be good. Over various shifts, there must be 50 or so cyclists here now, and some pretty nice bikes of all varieties. I like to see this.

May 24th – How not to lock your bike. An everyday workplace cycle rack. A brand spanking new Ridgeback Storm bike, bought on the excellent cycle to work scheme, secured with a £35, good quality lock. What can possibly go wrong?

The bike is only locked to the rack by a £40 rear wheel, held in by a quick release. Time taken to liberate the rest of the bike? Seconds. In these racks, a cable round the rack is essential, or lock the wheel to the bicycle frame. See Sheldon Brown for tips on locking.

I hope the owner doesn’t work in engineering. Top marks to the cycle chic lady with the single speed Africa Bike, though…