Edit: Sorry for title gore, can't edit it now 🤷

Yes, I choose to bike to work. Yes, I go get my groceries by bike. No, I don't care if it's raining. No, I don't want a lift. No, I don't judge you for driving.

I get so much unwarranted attention for doing the most mundane stuff with my bike, especially at work. I'm not a cyclist, I just got a bike and much prefer it to driving. I don't want a 10 minute chat with every employee at my work, or the workers at a store, or anyone for that matter about my bike.

Just like I wouldn't want a 10 minute conversation every time I get out of my car, or get off my bus. It's just how I get around - it is not a big deal.

Hey! Been riding a few years but not in a club or social riding so my knowledge of bikes is minimum so apologies now for butchering part names etc

Currently ride a norco all round bike I purchased back in 2018 which has been great. Has a tiagra 10x2 on it, used it on a few triathlons but it’s heavy and slow. Bikes covered around 12k miles and somehow with regular servicing has been ok. Few replacement parts here and there

Over winter I won’t ride out too much, mainly due to work etc so will stick it on a bike trainer and be my winter set up.

I figured the best upgrade to make would be to 105. Looking at the price (not knowing if it’s something I can fit to my bike) it’s expensive and part of me feels like I may as well buy a new bike, something that will make long rides and triathlons a lot more enjoyable.

What are your thoughts? Frame material? Is 105 worth it or should I go to ultegra or something? Electronic shifting or cabled? Endurance v aero frame geometry?

I wouldn’t want a tri bike as it’s not my main thing just something I enjoy. But I’d like to do longer tri’s and I’ve always just had tri bars I can attach if needed.

Edit: budget around 2k may be able to get cycle to work - would have to check

2nd edit: no cycle to work! Bastards

Thanks in advance!

Hi just wondering if anyone has ordered a bike from bikeinn to the uk

I see on the website it says duties included and I’ve used them for smaller things like tires and shoes before. Everything has always shown up, just not when they said it would.

The concept of spending 3.5 k with them is a little more worrying. I’d do it on a credit card for the increased protection but I still wonder…

Any advice or experience is appreciated

Are those 80 to 100mm travel, basic hardtails going to be any good for Nevis Range lower trails?

To me they're not much better than basic cube hire bikes at Whinlatter and Grizedale that get pushed around by every little rock or root it hits. I've had a cube supposedly 100mm travel MTB hardtail that TBH didn't travel that far before it felt like it had bottomed out. That was on the red trail at Whinlatter. Then I walked it around a black route, well apart from when I halved the length by cutting straight up the hill to the loop back and down to the red trail IIRC.

I was pushed around on any little bump by that bike, even on the red that's more like a blue at Nevis I think. I think the suspension was gone or nearly gone.

Came off my bike earlier on a 20mph road at 11am - hit something hidden by a puddle. While I was laying in the road 5 cars drove past and no-one stopped to help. No permanent damage done but I think it was the indifference of the drivers that really upset me.

I've come off in the past (I don't make a habit of it !), and multiple pedestrian have rushed to help. Sadly none around this time.

I guess its just another indication of how detached drivers are in their 1 ton steel boxes.

Hi all,

I'm heading to Cardiff for the Tour de France Grand Départ next year and will be staying up in Rhiwbina. A few friends are coming too and they'll be based in central Cardiff.

I'll have my road bike with me and I'm planning to get a ride or two in while I'm there, probably heading towards Caerphilly and beyond.

A couple of questions:

If you had around 2 hours for a road ride, what roads or areas would you recommend? I'm happy to drive to a start point if there's somewhere convenient to park the car for a few hours. Looking for scenic, interesting roads rather than just ticking off miles.

One of my friends is travelling over from the USA and will be looking to rent a decent road bike while he's here. Budget isn't really an issue for him. Can anyone recommend good road bike rental shops in the Cardiff area, or perhaps elsewhere nearby if there's a particularly good riding destination that also offers quality bike hire?

Thanks in advance for any recommendations.

Looking forward to exploring the area! 🚴‍♂️🍻

Cheers!

Hi guys, I am relatively new to ‘competitive’ cycling. I generally pot about on a hybrid that I have had for about 10 years now and does the trick.

Recently (in the past 3 months) I have decided that I would like to compete in an Ironman (aiming for summer of 2028 and to get a half in in 2027) and know that I will need a more bespoke bike for this.

I’m not looking at crazy time trial bikes, but something suitable that doesn’t break the bank. Having said that, I was looking at eBay for second hand bikes and found things like time trial bikes in for sale (used and with a bit of wear and tear) for between £1,000 - £2,000 which is realistically what I would ideally like to spend.

So 2 questions, does anyone have a steer on what would be a suitable bike for this and secondly where is a good place to look for a bike? I was also looking at my next bike, eBay etc!

Thanks for your help!

I pulled out an old Nestling light and battery pack and have no idea how to charge the battery pack. There's one fixed cord to connect to the light. There are no obvious sockets or flaps. I've touched each surface and tried to pry up the orange parts (they're glued down)

Does anyone know how to charge this thing?

Hi there, I wish to fit my abus 54 granit D lock to the underside of my top tube so that it is neatly inside the triangle, but before I order the correct shackle sleeve I noticed that Abus don’t show it in the diagrams as a potential location for the bracket. Has anyone else fitted one here? Does it have to be vertical or is it secure in this position?

Same road as I posted last time. Police NFA’d it. Please note camera makes it appear further away than it actually is.

My dad and I are both lifelong keen road cyclists. He's now getting on in years, starting to slow down, and curtail his distance. Before that becomes too serious, we've decided to do a last cycling holiday together. Probably in the UK for convenience/cost. Question is: where to go? We're probably looking for a base or two where we can do some loops, over a week, rather than point to point and carrying our bags. Ideally, somewhere with scenery & quiet rural roads. Don't mind hills, but I'm carrying a bunch of extra weight round the middle so nothing too serious. Good cafes are a must 😀

At £40-£70 for this tyre again, i keep telling myself "it will last one more ride" but i'll have to bite the bullet soon.

I ride a mullet 29"-26" mostly on road but also through the woods occasionally any recommendations for the 26" for a hardtail?

Edit: went for a continental double fighter 3 in the end, saw a bit of thread showing on my first ride this morning.

Edit 2: did my usual woods run tonight on the conti, (btw big ben front) way less grip when braking, but not out of control and so nice and smooth on the road.

I appreciate that I probably should’ve tried this when he was younger and smaller. I bought a secondhand Thule seat which he still fits in, but when I put him in I found that the bike just felt so heavy I didn’t feel remotely confident cycling with him on it.

For a few years during and after Covid I used to cycle fairly regularly but stopped about a year after I had him as I became quite nervous about being hurt. We now live in a quieter area and he’s at school where I work. The bus is unreliable so I thought cycling would be a good solution.

I went out on my bike on my own and found I could cycle fine, I’ve not completely lost my confidence. But I’m at a loss as to how to get confident enough to cycle with the weight of him on there too.

Does anyone have any advice?

EDIT - thank you for all the advice. Unfortunately now I feel that I’m not going to be able to make this work. I don’t have the money to buy a new bike right now and a trailer or cargo bike would be problematic due to lack of storage or space to leave them. On the plus side, I’ve now got back on the bike myself after a long break, so once I get the bit cycling we can go together instead.

Hello fellow cyclists,

Maybe you're already familiar with that sinking feeling when you realise your bike is not waiting for you on the bike rack... I left it outside of Britannia leisure Centre for 2 hours between 10:50 and 12:50, and I came out to find out that my gravel bike that has served me well for the last four years had been knicked ):

It's registered and insured, but I am posting here anyways in the hopes of a bike miracle. Maybe a fellow internet cyclist will see it on marketplace, gumtree, etc.

Attaching a photo here. It has a full frame bag that is green and yellow laced into the 22in frame.

Anyone have any advice? And yes I know that London is full of bike thieves, and I should never have left it outside.

Will be cycling from London with a small group on a Sunday in November, so I'm hoping for somewhere cosy to warm up after without having to worry about locking up our bikes.

Bonus points if they do GF food options. Thanks.

Can anyone please recommend any decent navigation apps? I'm fed up with Google Maps trying to send me down flights of stairs.

Many thanks

So my bikes arrived (alltrail 8)and Ive been riding it to work for a few days now. Its a lot more fun than I imagined(coming from motorcycle) and being a mountain bike, I take it off road where I can too on my route to work. Being pedal assist the tyres do not bother me as much on tarmac, also not that noisy as I imagined. Actually pretty quiet.

My feet got absolutely soaked on Friday, so I realised I needed proper waterproof shoes. Ordered some Five Tens trail cross gore tex, which are apparently good for mtb cycling. Really wanted the Leatts hydradri proflat 7.0 but couldnt find any in stock anywhere.

The bike seems all good, no squeaks or anything, although the rear wheel looks slightly off centre. Ill book it in for a full service just to be safe and get it set up tubeless while its there.

Decade plus ago I bought my current road/CX ish style bike. My first bike without pedals so I thought that I might go clipless one day but wanted flat pedals too for commuting. So I got Shimano pedals with flat pedal one side and clipless the other thinking I'd get the shoes later to try them out. These pedals let me hedge my bets.

I never did buy the shoes just used whatever outdoor shoes I had for hiking or day to day wear about town or anywhere not work or formal related. Including 4 cycle touring holidays with the family.

All I am asking is what do you think of mixed cycling and the shoes for it?

I'm never going to compete cycling, be fast or ride far, nor do I particularly want to. I just like the odd hour ride locally, commuting, and local chore runs such as shopping locally. Plus mountain biking with my son and partner using hire bikes but one day I'll get a hardtail MTB. Some weeks my biggest rides are 1.5 miles each way from the station to work. Other weeks I might do a longer ride for fitness locally. Not that far though.

I'm thinking SPDs might help for those "longer" rides and if I ever get round to joining my local cycle club like I keep threatening to do. However are outdoor shoes really that much worse than cycling shoes with or without SPDs?

Should I spend £100 or so on cycling shoes, if so should I only look at SPDs or are flat cycling shoes better too? If so, I'm unlikely to hire MTB bikes with SPD pedals. For my once a month or two months MTB trail centre trip would I get the hire centre to put SPD pedals on or put my pedals on so I can use SPD shoes? Or should I just get flats to allow for this use or just use outdoor shoes for my MTB days but SPD shoes / pedals on my road rides near home?

Any advice or recommendations for a plodding leisure, fitness and commuting cyclist?

My 13yo son is into the harder MTB stuff. Anything from jumps, harder trails and places like Danny's Descent park, Farmer John's, Nevis Range WC downhill course.

It's time we got him proper shoes for the job rather than letting him ride in his old Nike trainers. My question is flats or SPDs? Which is most appropriate for him?

He's a decent rider and a bright lad. He's fit from football, biking and all the weights he does. What are kids that are into his riding wearing? SPDs give better efficiency but are they more for the XC world or longer rides with ups as well as downs?

Any advice / views on this?

Lovely protected cycle lane in Bradford filled with tens of cars, many rentals for a wedding. Selfish.

I’m about to start commuting on my gravel bike, the route is a mixture of light gravel and road. It’s all new to me as I’ve only ever ridden a road bike in favourable conditions and I‘m wondering how I go about taking care of my bike in bad weather. Being realistic I’m not going to be able to fully wash and dry my bike every day but also want to avoid gritty chains and moving parts and rust/corrosion. How do people tackle it? Are there any good products? Could I give the bike a quick rinse and then spray it with something? What about disc rotors?

Any advice gratefully received. cheers!

I know I’m probably just being judgemental but I’ve noticed that these days most cyclists in my city especially delivery riders like to have the seat low as possible so that they sit upright and cycle bow-legged. It looks pretty uncomfortable/painful, is it in style or something?