Education We Like to Ride Bicycles

He did a few bikes for Lance Armstrong to ride when he did his comeback to ride at the Tour de France, they were auctioned off after. I didn't think they were Orbea's though so he might have done some since.

 

Any opinions on this guys?

I went into the local bike shopp today to discuss bike, and after asking what I rode on they suggested a hybrid rather than a full on mountain bike, which kinda makes sense when I'm doing as much on road/pavement stuff as I am track riding.

They suggested this and this, as well as telling me to wait while the rest of the 2013 ranges come in.

Anyone tell me what these 2 might be like?

Thanks

 

Pop into your local Halfords and take a look at the Voodoo Marassa http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_786861_langId_-1_categoryId_165534 and the Carrera Subway http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_810737_langId_-1_categoryId_165534

 

Don't think I ever shared the photo of my DH bike. Here it is just after I built it.

 

Quick blast around LLandegla his morning, nice cut on my shin as a souvenir.

 

If you are just using the bike for commuting a hybrid bike will probably be a bit faster and possibly more comfortable depending on your preference. Mountain bike tyres have a lot more rolling resistance and a proportion of your energy gets absorbed by the shocks every time you pedal. If you wanted more versatility you could always fit some slick tyres onto a mountain bike.

I'm sure either of those bikes would be fine, just try them out and see which one you prefer (most places will let you go on a test ride).

 

WANT! Sorry for the rudenessity, but how much? I kinda sorta plan on buying a proper one next summer.. Now I just HAD to get something on the cheap - and the Banshee Scream-setup should be rather nuke proof for the winter. (knocking wood like an absolute lunatic)

 

I know nothing about DH bikes, but that looks pretty awesome. I just realised you're from the same town as me, where do you ride?

 

Also a quick video from today:



The DH-thing starts from 4:10 or something, mainly it's just to show how close the damn hill is to where I live

 

I never totalled up the cost of it. Most of the bits were off my old Session, got a really good deal on the frame and fork though.

Usually Aston Hill, Forest of Dean or further afield for DH. I'm really enjoying trail bikes at the moment though so spending a lot of time at Peaslake, Woburn and out towards Monmouth. I actually live in London during the week so also riding to work on my new single speed and popping down to BMX tracks when the weather is nice.

 

Am liking the look of this...

http://www.dahon.com/bikes/2011/vector-x10

 

There was a guy on my old commute who rode a Dahon, he never had any complaints about it. Seemed like a fairly smooth ride and he could keep a good pace on it.

 

picked my bike up last week 41% off with the C2W scheme

 

^ nice bike bet that cost a bit.

I've had a couple of carrera subways for commuting.

 

thanks. its about £380, not too expensive. i got 40% off that too

Just back from getting it mucky. took it out and thought id had it 10mins in and then I got my stride right and was okay after that. probably about 8 years since ive cycled

 

Good bike for the money.

 

Been looking at some of the light threads on bike radar as I want to keep cycling while I have the bug, and I'm already at the stage where I need lights to go out on a ride after tea (I don't get home till after 6 by the time I've sorted food and stuff it's after 7 when I get out)

There's a lot of talk about torches from cheap to ones costing more than the bike I'm considering buying! So I thought I would ask you lot. How much light do I really need to ride on a cycle path at night?

Most of my rides are about an hour in length at the mo, possibly slightly longer or shorter depending on my fitness and how far I fancy going.

I see plenty on eBay, and people seem to recommend a lot from places like dealextreme but I don't really want to order from America if I can, could anyone recommend something that's going sort me out for a bit of evening riding

 

My dad and his friends go ou on rides at evening/night and they all have some lights off eBay. £30 from taiwan get you about 1800 Lumens! (does that sound right? it's almost as bright as a motorbike)

I will try and get the link if you want?

 

just been having a root around ebay.

Single Ultrafire + bike mount £25

Twin Ultrafire + Mount £40

Are these any good, and does anyone know what sort of light they give out (is it tightly foccussed, or wide beam?)

i know is a daft question, but are these decent, or just overkill?

 

I'm sure it won't be terrible, but don't expect much for the price. Nor would I expect much battery life (Cree's, although very nice LED's, do loves them some juice!). One thing I would like to point out is that this is a general purpose flashlight, not a headlight. The former is designed for tightly focused long-throw of it's light to illuminate a particular area (at least when you're talking smaller sized reflectors), whereas the latter tries to flood a large area in a 180 degree arc directly in front of the light, and tends to have a intermediate distance throw as well (illuminating what is coming in as large an area as possible).

So whilst I don't think this is a particularly bad light, I don't feel it is designed for the needs of a fast moving vehicle at night. Though I'm basing this largely on speculation and some knowledge of similar lights.

As far as what is on the market now for bike lights, well I don't have much opinion, but I do know that the Serfas stuff coming out at the moment is looking exceptionally nice for the money, and I've always had good luck with their kit. Take a glance at the 150L headlight, as that'll be more than ample for most pathway riding with a nice wide arc. If you're planning on off-the-pathway stuff, then just buy as many of the most expensive, well reviewed headlights as you can My main light set consists of twin Cree's being over-volted with well designed reflectors, and it's not enough for riding through the bush. I'd probably need a second set, or more, to get an ample amount of light for that.

But as always: try before you buy. See what light has the beam pattern you want, the intensity you desire, and the throw distance that works for the speed and terrain you'll be on. I generally shop for lights at night, by the way!