slime is great and 'how many helmets ?'

OK two posts in one here, sorry..

I was out cycling my MTB on the New Forest tracks today and I have
never seen so many other cyclists.. some days I can get around the
whole forest with out seeing another cyclist. I am wandering what this
obsession with helmets is these days though, it must be a fashion
thing from what I read !

On a different note, I had a thorn stuck in my tyre today, so I pulled
it out half expecting an early tea break but the slime miraculously
stopped it straight away.. marvelous stuff, I could see a little blob
of green on the tyre, but it hardly lost any pressure, highly
recomeded stuff IMHO

Finally ( thirdly !) one of the spokes in my front wheel broke today
and the wheel is rather wonky now.. I've often thought the wheels
could be better, if I were to invest in a new pair to replace the
( presumably machine made ) ones that came with the bike, would they
likely stay straighter / be stronger ? Should I struggle to true this
one up as much as possible with a new spoke or maybe take it to a
pro ?

It's a Claude Butler Cape Wrath disc BTW ( '05 ) Has shimano hubs and
mavic rims, which were seemingly assembed by a monkey though, and
evidently maintaned / PDI'ed with simmilar care !

Simon

mr p wrote on 06/04/2007 21:54:
I was out cycling my MTB on the New Forest tracks today and I have
never seen so many other cyclists.. some days I can get around the
whole forest with out seeing another cyclist.

I went out today for a 22m (good for me) ride round Manchester; the
Fallowfield loop, Ashton canal etc. Full report on my site below.

I know what you mean about the numbers of people on bikes though; there
were quite a few out and about in Manchester. I was commenting to my
friend though that's it's very good cycling weather - warm, light
breeze, not too hot...

I really enjoyed my day though am weary now...

Peter

--
http://www.scandrett.net/lx/
http://www.scandrett.net/bike/

Peter Scandrett wrote on 06/04/2007 22:11 +0100:
mr p wrote on 06/04/2007 21:54:
I was out cycling my MTB on the New Forest tracks today and I have
never seen so many other cyclists.. some days I can get around the
whole forest with out seeing another cyclist.

I went out today for a 22m (good for me) ride round Manchester; the
Fallowfield loop, Ashton canal etc. Full report on my site below.

I know what you mean about the numbers of people on bikes though; there
were quite a few out and about in Manchester. I was commenting to my
friend though that's it's very good cycling weather - warm, light
breeze, not too hot...

I really enjoyed my day though am weary now...


Spent two days cycling in the Lakes, one in Grizedale and another doing
a favourite off-road route from Windermere across to Elterwater and
back. Loads of bikes piled up on the backs of cars and at Grizedale,
lots of people on bikes in the car park but I saw virtually no-one out
on the trails - total of four going round the North Face route in
Grizedale on a hot sunny Easter week day.



--
Tony

"The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there
is no good evidence either way."
- Bertrand Russell

mr p wrote:
OK two posts in one here, sorry..

I was out cycling my MTB on the New Forest tracks today and I have
never seen so many other cyclists.. some days I can get around the
whole forest with out seeing another cyclist. I am wandering what this
obsession with helmets is these days though, it must be a fashion
thing from what I read !

I think It is because they think cycling unsafe, many of them will be
weekend cyclists.
Or those who have restarted cycling after a long period not on a bike
and have been to a local toy shop and been persuaded to buy a plastic
hat with the bike.


Finally ( thirdly !) one of the spokes in my front wheel broke today
and the wheel is rather wonky now.. I've often thought the wheels
could be better, if I were to invest in a new pair to replace the
( presumably machine made ) ones that came with the bike, would they
likely stay straighter / be stronger ? Should I struggle to true this
one up as much as possible with a new spoke or maybe take it to a
pro ?

If it were me, I would replace the spoke, and a few each side and true
it up. If you can't do a reasonable job, then replace the wheel, and
keep the old as a spare

Martin Dann wrote on 06/04/2007 22:36 +0100:

If it were me, I would replace the spoke, and a few each side and true
it up. If you can't do a reasonable job, then replace the wheel, and
keep the old as a spare

Replacing the spoke and tensioning up the rest to prevent a reoccurence
is pretty simple. The instructions can be found on Sheldon Brown's website.

--
Tony

"The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there
is no good evidence either way."
- Bertrand Russell

mr p wrote:

Finally ( thirdly !) one of the spokes in my front wheel broke today
and the wheel is rather wonky now.. I've often thought the wheels
could be better, if I were to invest in a new pair to replace the
( presumably machine made ) ones that came with the bike, would they
likely stay straighter / be stronger ? Should I struggle to true this
one up as much as possible with a new spoke or maybe take it to a
pro ?

I would get a spoke and fit it yourself. Its good practise should you ever
need to do it. Front wheels are easy to do, rear can be harder (not least
because sprockets often have to be removed).

You should be able to true the wheel easily as only the broken spoke should
need any adjusting (OK, when its nearly spot-on, there may be tweaks
elsewhere). When done, give the spoke a fairly strong heave with fingers to
an adjacent one to take the tension up, then check/tweak again.

A "good enough" wheel truing jig can be done by turning bike upside down and
holding a pencil against a fork. When wheel spins, you can see from tip of
pencil whether the rim is right or left of true. (I doubt one spoke out
could have made the rim significantly oval, so shouldn't need to worry about
that). Posh version of same has lever dial gauge clamped around fork
(because I have a dial gauge in the shed).


It's a Claude Butler Cape Wrath disc BTW ( '05 ) Has shimano hubs and
mavic rims, which were seemingly assembed by a monkey though, and
evidently maintaned / PDI'ed with simmilar care !

If money for new wheels is available, you could add some very posh light
ones and have tubeless tyres thrown in as well.
But for general riding, I expect the standard wheels are adequate.



- Nigel




--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

On 6 Apr, 22:36, Martin Dann wrote:
mr p wrote:
OK two posts in one here, sorry..

I was out cycling my MTB on the New Forest tracks today and I have
never seen so many other cyclists.. some days I can get around the
whole forest with out seeing another cyclist. I am wandering what this
obsession with helmets is these days though, it must be a fashion
thing from what I read !

I think It is because they think cycling unsafe,

It is! If you come off through your own actions or from an others,
and land on your head without a helmet, it's going to hurt and could
easily be fatal!

many of them will be
weekend cyclists.
Or those who have restarted cycling after a long period not on a bike
and have been to a local toy shop and been persuaded to buy a plastic
hat with the bike.

I personally will not risk riding my cycle without wearing my helmet.
No chance.

snip

"Dundonald" typed


I personally will not risk riding my cycle without wearing my helmet.
No chance.

Oh dear! There is no credible evidence that a flimsy plastic hat will
give significant protection against a serious head injury.

Sorry chums!

--
Helen D. Vecht:
Edgware.

Dundonald wrote:

It is! If you come off through your own actions or from an others,
and land on your head without a helmet, it's going to hurt and could
easily be fatal!

http://www.cyclehelmets.org

Helen Deborah Vecht wrote:
"Dundonald" typed


I personally will not risk riding my cycle without wearing my helmet.
No chance.

Oh dear! There is no credible evidence that a flimsy plastic hat will
give significant protection against a serious head injury.

I have to admit that I normally wear head protection whilst out on my bike.

Off road the plastic and polystyrene lid has saved me from some nasty
bumps and scrapes on the head from low branches.

On road the protective ability of a fleecy hat cannot be overstated in
the winter (I get very cold ears and head without a hat), during the
summer a light cotton cap helps protect from the sun's heat and glare.

Having said that, with the gorgeous weather at the moment (warm and dry,
but not to hot) I've been going bare head.

Matt