noob questions

i almost always ride with headphones in, including city riding... i find that i can hear road noise well enough to be safe, as long as i'm not blasting the music. but reading the pretty much 100% attitude against riding w/headphones, maybe i should reconsider because i'm being unsafe? i'm not going to challop and say that it doesn't affect my ability to hear road noise at all, just that i can still hear cars pulling around me, honking, etc.

I guess all you can do is do a direct comparison and see if the difference is noticeable/positive.

The things I would worry about not being able to hear are, say, the difference between a car and a scooter engine behind me, the difference between a car coasting and revving, whether a car's approaching along an as yet unseen side road, the noises that tell me what the van I just filtered past is going to do next, that kind of thing. I am sure I'd be shoulder checking a lot more, which may be a good thing, who knows.

so... I am thinking of doing a 90k charity ride in September but I'm not sure how feasible it is. would appreciate advice from seasoned ILTRMBors...

It's the Tour de Picnic which involves cycling from Dublin (starting at 10am) to the Electric Picnic, which is the best major music festival in Ireland (Roxy Music / Leftfield / Massive Attack / LCD Soundsystem headlining this year). Your bags and tents are brought down separately and if you raise €500 (for a kids' hospital) your ticket is paid for.

Sounds pretty tempting but I have no idea if I'm up to it... I cycle pretty much every day to/from the city centre (only about 3 miles each way). I'm fitter than I have been in a good while, last month I ran my first ever 10k in just under 50 minutes. My bike is a cheap but reliable traditional dudes' bike and may also be inferior to the challenge. I wouldn't be buying a new bike for this tho...

is it doable? (there's also the question of raising that much money!!). any tips on training / gear / etc would also be much appreciated!

90k should be very doable for anyone with moderate fitness, by way of comparison we took complete novices on our 5 day DC to pittsburgh ride and they coped just fine, and that was longer every day, off road and carrying all ones own stuff. Most people can quite happily average a little over 15km/h for hours without batting an eyelid. That's 6 hours in the saddle at the very worst and 8 once you stop for lunch and along the way.

Given your gear is taken for you, all you should need is water bottles, 2 if your bike will take them, a pump, spare tube and tyre levers. get a small underseat bag or handlebar bag for these. Don't forget to eat and drink often, pack lots of bananas, chocolate, trail mix etc. YOu'll need a waterproof, and padded shorts is probably a good idea. You'll also have a better time if you grease areas likely to chafe, there are professional bum grease products but vaseline or nappy rash cream work almost as well. ALthough you don't need it a cycling jersey is nice to have, if only for the useful pockets on the back.

Oh, a cheapo bike computer is nice, you can use it to pace yourself, given your recent running exploits you should probably have no problems at an 18 km/h average or even higher. Get one and go an knock off 30km, you should have no problems.

The bottom bracket on a bike I was hoping to sell is wobbly. Front hub is wobbly too. This is after it was sitting in a room being unridden for a year :/ anyway how do i shot wobbly bracket/hub? New bracket and hub called for? That would be annoying, don't want to have to spend cash to fix a bike I want to sell.

overhauling a bottom bracket is maybe the most dreadful bike mechanic maneuvers apparently.

good luck!

might just wheel it into my lbs and ask for a quote

my previous record at bottom bracket overhauls is not great (count=1, result=stripped thread)

if you're selling it, just put in the cheapest bb you can find... it will cost you less than having a shop overhaul it, and it will save you a whole lot of headache trying to do it yourself. you can probably just tighten the hub cones to take the wobble out of the hub.

^ i did this, thx. well, got lbs to do the bb. yet to sell bike.

when you *cannot* fit yr tyres back over the rim, what do you do? is there a tool? tyre levers don't seem to be any help. fortunately this time my flatmate helped me out with his climber's thumbs but he is shortly to return to australia.

old tyres you can't get back on, or new ones? had trouble trying to fit a new pair on my good wheels when i got them, but not really since.

not brand new but not old, only the first time i've tried to refit them.

I got one of these VAR tyre tools which is supposed to help you get the tyre over the rim:
http://www.cyclebasket.com/products.php?plid=m5b93s281p92&rs=gb
It doesn't always help, though, to be honest.

My brother's got some kind of telescopic tyre lever which he claims is really useful. I'm not sure how it works, but I guess one end ataches to the hub or something.

I have that telescopic lever and I don't find it very useful (I've gone back to my trusty old-school levers). It's a nice idea as you can just revolve it around the hub to take off or put on the tyre, but it still needs the force applied like a normal lever, except in this case you don't have a second lever to help you out. Also, because it is long and telescopy it feels more fragile.

I dreamt about tires last night!

Probably because I'm still waiting for the shop to get those Panaracers in a week later, grr.

new mac or new bike?

I just bought a new bike, so you'd better buy a new mac.

pics

Haven't got it yet, but it's to replace my stolen Felt MTB:

http://2009.feltracing.com/09/images/catalog/large/9010.png

Flat spots in wheels: can they be fixed? Sheldon brown says yay, two LBSs say nay. Both my mtb wheels are afflicted ;_;

Flat spots on the rims, you mean? From having under-inflated tyres perhaps ;)

is this bike ok for me to use for three months around bristol and then sell? if y, is it worth the asking price?

http://bristol.gumtree.com/bristol/63/71415163.html

depends where you need to go and how strong you are feeling. 39-28 up to clifton every day will grow you some legs. This is possibly why he's selling it. I wouldn't pay much more than 100 quid for it.

thanks. i have a reasonably pedestrian route from bishopston to the uni, i.e. not quite up to clifton, and over a longer distance/lower grade. just sent a cheeky lowball offer though. will let you know.

lowball denied.

this would obv. be fine, but is it worth £475? and will i be able to sell it for >300 after daily use in a few months? http://bristol.gumtree.com/bristol/24/70210224.html

It's not worth £475. Even if it is like brand new (and if it has been used only once why's it been serviced?) then that's a steep price. But, if you take care of it then yes, it should be worth £300+ in 3 months. But I don't like buying from liars.

Also 53.5 is described as "M/L" and you're quite tall, aren't you? On a sizing guide I found it suggests this is for 5'9" to 6".

Ah, to be fair Giant's own sizing guide says 5'10" to 6'1".

http://archive.giant-bicycles.com/us/050.000.000/050.600.100.asp

I'm 5'10" so it should be fine, but yes that service is a bit fishy. He's told me in detail what they did in that service, I know the place that did it and it all sounds reasonable, but not for a bike that's been used once. Other people are viewing tonight and tomorrow, so I will wait to see where the bidding stands. I have a number in mind.

Good thinking (and sorry, I had it in my head you were 6'3" or something). If the bike's relatively new and has had a bona fide service, then why bullshit about it?

Anyone know how much getting a bottom bracket either serviced or replaced might cost? If the latter, then something cheap and functional as it's a bike I need to sell.

increase in punctures recently...

i've checked around the wheel and in the tyre and there aren't any sharp bits or anything. my tyres are fairly buggered from glass and stuff.

what's a good tyre / tube combo for these harsh london roads?

dont sweat the tubes, imo

i used soma everwears when i lived in chicago and they worked great (i was also on a brakeless track bike and did a lot of skidding). heavy-ish, tho, but i'm guessing that isn't really an issue

Schwalbe Marathons have a good rep round here, I run them and they are heavy but pretty indestructible. As for tubes, I ran slimed ones for a while but not really sure if they are worth it if you put money into tyres.

Another top tip. Check your Rim tape hasn't rucked up, folded or exposed spoke holes as that will kill tubes pretty quickly.

Anyone know how much getting a bottom bracket either serviced or replaced might cost?

i had this done a while ago, for a bike i needed to sell (and haven't done yet). think it was about £40-50 for cheapest bb + labour?

whoah pricey!

cartridge BBs are hella cheap, and if yr repacking loose bearings that seems like a ton of money for labor

20% VAT. london pricing, it's why I own my own tools.

VAT is impossible for me to understand

also, any london people have a favourite LBS that'll do a full clean / servive jobby on my bike? feel like it's taken quite a battering over the last few months.

VAT is just a national sales tax, gbx

right, but isn't it structured in some complicated way? liiiiike at several points along the supply chain, whereas a US state's sales tax is only applied at the final point of sale? i dunno.

actually it wasn't the cheapest bb i got, forget the details but 'cause of the bike he had to get a pricier one (and nah i wasn't being fleeced, they're pretty decent, would recommend for full service etc...)

http://www.londonbicycle.com/repairs.html

right, but isn't it structured in some complicated way? liiiiike at several points along the supply chain, whereas a US state's sales tax is only applied at the final point of sale? i dunno.

no, it's just a sales tax.

oh. huh.

noob VAT questions

I never have to worry, cuz I always get mine back upon departure... B-)

it's not just a sales tax, although the effect is much the same. It is a tax on the value added at each point on the supply chain. When you file your quarterly VAT return you pay the VAT you charged your customers less the VAT your supplier charged you.

However, as a consumer you just see the price, inclusive of the 20% VAT and what you pay is functionally the same as if you paid a 20% US style sales tax.

It is very annoying that, as a non resident british subject, I can't claim the VAT back on departure.