Show your Bicycles.....

stimpsonslostson

I got a new bike last week. It's an older (2013 I think) Boardman CX team. 
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7047/6881103033_56b9660cd3.jpg

Coming from my old 26" commuter bike it's a bloody rocket ship! My commute has gone from 45mins to 35! Carbon forks etc so it's comfy too. I've started tinkering- put Specialized Armadillo tyres on (bulletproof things- my last set did 5 years with no punctures!), Raceblades and pannier rack too. 

It's SO nice to have a zippy bike for when I want to whizz along, my other bike is this: 
http://www.123velo.fr/upload/btze9pum6593.jpg

Giant Twist Freedom CS ebike. It's great as a car replacement- I routinely carry two children & a load of shopping around with virtually no effort. (I use it on days when I know I've got lots to carry/there's a really strong headwind- it does the aforementioned commute in 41mins. Every time. Regardless of wind/what I've got in the panniers. 41mins). 
It's just a bit dull to ride. It trundles along at up to 15mph quite happily, but it's not worth trying to go faster as the motor cuts out at 15.5mph. Then you're trying to go fast on a bike that weighs 25+kg! 

skunkwerx

What with my work hours having changed to nights and sundays, and with winter being here, I havent ridden for a couple months... 

Can’t wait to get back into it when it warms up a little. 

Worried about the bike though! Its been sat in a leaky shed, but it has a cover on it so should stay pretty dry atleast. 

Hope nothings rusted... lol  

strtdv

I'm building up towards cutting my bikes from 3 to 2. 
I love the Canyon, and have done all my 100+ mile rides on it, but I'm a disc brake convert and the lack of mudguard mounts is annoying (given that the roads are wet most of the year here).

I've upgraded my Cube to mostly Ultegra so I don't feel I'm losing anything in the shifting by getting rid of the Canyon, although I will miss the low weight. I'm a bit anxious the Cube won't be as comfortable as the Canyon

The long term plan will be to ride the cube all year and then either sell it and buy a nice steel bike (Fairlight Strael 2.0 most likely), or demote it to a commuter and sell my current commuter.

TTBZ

Sold my FS and built up my new frame, Dartmoor Hornet in awesome petrol painted finish. Didn't think I'd like the full 170mm forks on a HT but it actually feels great, not wandery or barge-like.

strtdv

Looks great @TTBZ ;
What sort of riding are you doing on it?


I sold my Canyon yesterday. After selling it I took the Cube out for a ride and just really enjoyed riding it, as I always do.
I'll miss the lightness of the Canyon a little when it comes to serious climbs, but I find the Cube more comfortable overall and just enjoyed riding it more, particularly now the shifting is excellent.


I put a cheap carbon Brand X seatpost on the Cube too and it's brilliant, dampens bumps really well.


I've got a new set of wheels coming for my Saracen too, and I'll be getting a carbon seatpost for it now that I'm planning on using it to do more serious miles when I'm away from home during the week, although I'm almost tempted by a Kinesis Tripster AT frameset in blue...

That's the bikes down to 2, the plan is to enjoy what I have for now with a view to get a Fairlight Strael 2.0 next year and then possibly change the Hack commuter to the Tripster.
I reckon between the Strael with 28c tyres and the Tripster with 32c gravel tyres and a rack it would cover a lot of ground, and both look to be lovely bikes

TTBZ

@strtdv not much at the minute just riding the local lanes and bridleways til I manage to get my road bike sorted. Going to have to resort to taking it to the shop as I've tried everything to remove my stripped crank pinch bolts!

I normally ride the DH trails at Woburn Sands, do a bit of trail centre (cannock and forest of dean) and maybe once or twice a year treat myself to an uplift day at Bike Park Wales or FOD! I had a YT Wicked but felt I never really used it to its full potential on these trails and I've always been a sucker for an aggressive hardtail. Previously I've always hated a long fork on hardtail but it feels really sorted on this. I'll eventually upgrade to 650b wheels since the frame fits both and at that point I might drop the travel a bit.

TTBZ

Don't suppose anyone has a cheap road crankset for sale? Finally managed to get my cranks off with some bolt extractors and a shit load of leverage but there's a load of stuff/washers stuck on the spindle! People don't highly rate the FSA omega cranks so thinking of a slight upgrade to something shimano HTII.

Legionreturns

I just sold a 52/36 Ultegra crank set.

Not much use I know! 

NickBotfield

TTBZ said:

Don't suppose anyone has a cheap road crankset for sale? Finally managed to get my cranks off with some bolt extractors and a shit load of leverage but there's a load of stuff/washers stuck on the spindle! People don't highly rate the FSA omega cranks so thinking of a slight upgrade to something shimano HTII.

@TTBZ I've got a Shimano Sora 8 speed triple (50-39-30) if that's any use. 

strtdv

Sora 8 speed is Octalink so won't fit the presumably square taper BB that's there already.

If you're changing to HT2 then it's basically a case of how much you want to spend. A used 5800 105 is probably the best price/performance ratio but you can get a perfectly useable R-565 double (it's a nonseries crankset but roughly comparable to a 5700 105) for about £45

rocktron

Good heavens, no!!!

You don't want to see my bicycles - Universal Stowaway Shopper folding bikes.

In fact, I have two. I named them Trabant and Skoda.

I don't know  if these are made by Universal anymore, but they were cheap and fit easily into a car boot.

They are exactly like this:-

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-UNIVERSAL-FOLDING-CYCLE-SYSTEM-with-3-SPEED-ARCHER-ADJUSTABLE-SEAT-HANDLE/152687441346?_trkparms=aid=222007&algo=SIM.MBE&ao=1&asc=49925&meid=77084532b25f4bc9aa26f045977b10ae&pid=100011&rk=1&rkt=12&sd=301753146754&itm=152687441346&_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850


 

NickBotfield

strtdv said:

Sora 8 speed is Octalink so won't fit the presumably square taper BB that's there already.

If you're changing to HT2 then it's basically a case of how much you want to spend. A used 5800 105 is probably the best price/performance ratio but you can get a perfectly useable R-565 double (it's a nonseries crankset but roughly comparable to a 5700 105) for about £45

My mistake - it's Sora 3500 so it's 9 speed, but it came from a mixed manufacturer 8 speed groupset.  It's definitely HT2.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shimano-Sora-Chainset-Triple-170mm/dp/B00BFARU84

ThePrettyDamned

Gave my marin a clean last weekend and hope to get out riding soon. Tough beast, but the sora set was grinding a bit thanks to dirt.

fields5069

I made the mistake of buying a geared bike last year, a GT Grade. I built it up, took one look at it and knew it was wrong. I sold it for a good price and now all I have left is a late 70s Carlton, which is allowed gears because I like the way I have to fiddle with the lever to stop it making noise.

I really want to get a single speed again though, when funds allow. I loved the Genesis Day One Disc I had, the green one from 2014. It's not going to take me up into the hills north of Chepstow, but it's great for undulating terrain.

shaunyshaun1234

TTBZ said:

Sold my FS and built up my new frame, Dartmoor Hornet in awesome petrol painted finish. Didn't think I'd like the full 170mm forks on a HT but it actually feels great, not wandery or barge-like.

Stunning! Absolutely love the Hornet Frames! 

Unfortunately I don't think I'll get around to owning one anytime soon.

I'm currently riding a Voodoo Hoodoo with more or less upgraded everything and it feels like a really good bike. Just started doing the red and Ridge run at Stile Cop and love it! 

BigMonka

I’ve recently gone over 18,000 miles recorded on Strava which I believe is the minimum distance you need for a round the world record attempt. Not sure if it matters that the world record is about 79days and mine took 5years!

joneve

BigMonka said:

I’ve recently gone over 18,000 miles recorded on Strava which I believe is the minimum distance you need for a round the world record attempt. Not sure if it matters that the world record is about 79days and mine took 5years!

18k (proper ) is impressive, no matter how long it takes. 

I've actually started cycling again earlier in the year than I normally do - mostly through forcing myself due to half iron man in August and having a bad foot at mo so can't run.

So currently trying to commute to work (only 12 mile round trip) a couple of times a week at least - but it's very much weather dependent as we don't have showers or anywhere to dry clothes, so have to pick the dry days. Liking the fact I'm getting out more. It was (is!) a bit of a shock to the system, having not touched my bike since completing the London Tri last year (a few chainlinks had seized as I'd not bothered to do any maintenance after a horrendously wet Tri, so had to buy a new one, which has made a noticeable difference to my shifting)

Hopefully start doing some regular climbs (I have loads on on my doorstep fortunately) in the coming weeks. 

TTBZ

shaunyshaun1234 said:

Stunning! Absolutely love the Hornet Frames! 

Unfortunately I don't think I'll get around to owning one anytime soon.

I'm currently riding a Voodoo Hoodoo with more or less upgraded everything and it feels like a really good bike. Just started doing the red and Ridge run at Stile Cop and love it! 

Cheers! I've still not properly ridden this on any big trails yet, wouldn't mind getting over to stile cop or something again. Used to ride it all on my old dodgy Trailstar so this will feel like a luxury in comparison! Hopefully I won't miss the plushness of a full suspension. 

strtdv

Now that my Canyon is sold I've set up my remaining 2 bikes pretty much exactly as I want them.

First up the Cube:





It now has Ultegra 6800 front and rear mechs and RS685 shifters. The shifting is much better than it was before.
Alloy seatpost replaced with a flexy carbon one
Stock cube saddle replaced with a Fizik Alliante VS
Also has my nice new Ravemen front light, which is excellent.
While I was at it I stuck a set of GP4000SII tyres on it which are more comfortable and faster rolling than the Grandsports that were on it.
It's dead on 10kg with lights, pump, bottle cage and mudguards all fitted so not bad at all.

Next is my Saracen




It now benefits from RS505 shifters, hydraulic brakes (785 post mount calipers), 105 5800 front and rear mech, and a flexy carbon seatpost.
I also decided that while the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres on 32 spoke wheels are great for commuting or touring, they're not really an everyday kind of setup, but they're far too big a faff to go putting on and off the rims all the time, so I got a set of Fulcrum Racing Sport DB cyclocross wheels cheap and put the Conti Grandsports that I'd taken off my Cube on them.
It's reduced the rotating mass by nearly 2kg, and it means when I need the bike for commuting, changing the wheels is a 5 minute job.

At some stage I may convert the Fulcrum wheels to tubeless and stick some 32c Panaracer Gravel Kings on them..

m_c

After a bit of deliberation and delay getting the frame, I finally got this built up today.

It's very nice :-)