London - Finsbury Park to Blackfriars

[mjr]

I got this puncture soon after setting out from the old place

Wow. That's a proper puncture.

Yep, one better than mine which was similar but missed the rim (and so caused the rear wheel to lock up because the nail couldn't pass the brake blocks).

[Onyerbike1979]

Hi good folks!!

Its been a busy week so apologies about the lack of replies. Just wanted to thank you all for your contributions and help, its greatly appreciated.

I am hoping to pick up my new wheels tomorrow, still waiting on the cycle to work voucher so hopefully that will be in my inbox today!!

@Dsalmon01, thanks for the offer. Not sure how to PM you here to give you my number so we can meet up and check out the route, if you could send me a message that would be awesome or if anyone can tell me how to send a PM that would be even better!!

Will let you all know how my first commute goes next week,

Have a good weekend everyone,

A

[TonyR]

....... or if anyone can tell me how to send a PM that would be even better!!

Assuming you are using a web browser just look on the right of the post and there should be a little square with PM written in it. Click that and @Dsalmon01's your uncle

[Onyerbike1979]

....... or if anyone can tell me how to send a PM that would be even better!!

Assuming you are using a web browser just look on the right of the post and there should be a little square with PM written in it. Click that and @Dsalmon01's your uncle

Stupidly I figured it out not long after posting!! Appreciate the help all the same.

So bike wont be ready until Thursday but I have bought all the relevant gear, good lock, good lights, repair kit, extra tubes etc.

Looking forward to getting on the road asap!

[drossall]

If you happen to be passing Finsbury Park station around 8.50am one day, I'll join up with you both for a few miles

Look out for the red Dahon folder, (usually) yellow jacket and moustache.

[lingy]

My personal 3 tips for commuting gear that many don't have:
1) Quality tyres (eg Schwalbe Marathon)...the best insurance against punctures!
2) A track pump at home (eg Topeak Joe Blow ...the yellow one is great value)
3) Carry 'Rainlegs' if you bike in work clothes. Brilliant.

Do that, look at CycleStreets routes, assertive confident positioning staying away from large trucks, buses etc and you'll be fine!

[Smiles]

This is my first post. I am 50, a life long cyclist and interested by some of the subjects on the board.

The reason for starting here is that I live in Islington. The challenges of cycling in central London are familiar to me. In my view one of the big challenges of cycling somewhere unfamiliar in London is that the permissions on roads and at junctions (no left, no right, one way) make route finding infinitely more complex. This is compounded by the ever present impact of road works altering the actual road layout from the suggested route on the Sat Nav or map. Trying to manage all of this while cycling safely can be very difficult indeed.

Having done lots of experimentation including finding the route from Islington to Dartford for my daily commute my advice is to buy a handle bar mounted smart phone case and download and use the BikeHub app.

Sorry to labour this point but it is really important. If you are using your phone as a Sat Nav while you cycle you MUST se a handle bar mounted case; do NOT attempt to carry and read your phone in your hand (you will have an accident).

The bike hub app allows you to select quietest route. I routinely cycle with my 8 year old son in central London on the routes suggested in this mode. With care and familiarization the Bike hub app can also function as a reasonable real time cycle Sat Nav. But be warned; the Bike hub app has bugs. If you can, (i) clear as much memory as possible on the phone, (ii) switch the phone off and then on immediately prior to setting out, (iii) when you reach your destination press DONE - do not just close the app. You will also find that using the Sat Nav drains the battery on your phone quickly. I managed the route from Islington to Tunbridge Wells but I had to take three phones in total. The slim supplemental battery's you can buy to back up your phone are very useful in this regard (make sure they will fit with your phone in whatever case you buy).

Cycle streets will give you ideas for routes but you really need something that will guide you dynamically in real time and I prefer Bikehub for this reason and because it particularly picks out routes that cycles can follow that are not available to cars (parks and canals where cycling is permitted). Google maps cycle mode tends to direct you on very busy roads in my experience. The advice of reconnaissance ahead of time is well founded. Very simply, when planning your route, stay away from cars as much as you can.

Good luck

Smiles

[mjr]

Sorry to labour this point but it is really important. If you are using your phone as a Sat Nav while you cycle you MUST se a handle bar mounted case; do NOT attempt to carry and read your phone in your hand (you will have an accident).

I disagree that's a MUST. I much prefer to leave my eyes free to watch the very busy chaos of London streets and use voice prompts from OSMand (from routes preplanned on cycle.travel and downloaded, but it can also do live routing if plans change) and yes, that means using a loudspeaker or earpiece (but only one earpiece, leaving the other ear free to hear the chaos). If I need to check the display, I pull over and stop.

I also couldn't be bothered working around all those bike hub app bugs! It's not in the f-droid app store anyway and I won't be rushing to request it.

How old are your phones? Sat Nav on Android version 4+ (codename Ice Cream Sandwich, I think?) is a lot less battery-hungry and my little Sony Xperia Tipo easily does a 100 mile day of navigation and tracking in OSMand on one charge, so I wonder if the bike hub app might have a power leak bug too.

[Smiles]

Sorry to labour this point but it is really important. If you are using your phone as a Sat Nav while you cycle you MUST se a handle bar mounted case; do NOT attempt to carry and read your phone in your hand (you will have an accident).

I disagree that's a MUST. I much prefer to leave my eyes free to watch the very busy chaos of London streets and use voice prompts from OSMand (from routes preplanned on cycle.travel and downloaded, but it can also do live routing if plans change) and yes, that means using a loudspeaker or earpiece (but only one earpiece, leaving the other ear free to hear the chaos). If I need to check the display, I pull over and stop.

I also couldn't be bothered working around all those bike hub app bugs! It's not in the f-droid app store anyway and I won't be rushing to request it.

How old are your phones? Sat Nav on Android version 4+ (codename Ice Cream Sandwich, I think?) is a lot less battery-hungry and my little Sony Xperia Tipo easily does a 100 mile day of navigation and tracking in OSMand on one charge, so I
wonder if the bike hub app might have a power leak bug too.

We will have to agree to differ on the use of the mount; I find the verbal instructions alone inadequate for route planning around complex junctions in London. I tried it as you suggested when I first got it and found it unusable. Bike Hub ask you to agree a disclaimer that you will only use the app with a handlebar mount and I think this is a very sensible precaution.

The bugs on the bike hub app are a pain but I prefer the routes it finds to those I get with cycle streets or google. Truth be told having used a range of different apps the final routes I use are a aggregate of the best of all of them. I can usually reasonable route to get most places in London if you are prepared to experiment.

Re battery life; I may just cycle a lot slower than you do

[mjr]

Re battery life; I may just cycle a lot slower than you do

Possible but unlikely, as my drugs are the opposite of performance-enhancing Anyway, glad you've got something that works for you.

[Richard Fairhurst]

The bugs on the bike hub app are a pain but I prefer the routes it finds to those I get with cycle streets or google.

I think the Bike Hub app actually uses CycleStreets routing: http://www.cyclestreets.net/mobile/

[Smiles]

The bugs on the bike hub app are a pain but I prefer the routes it finds to those I get with cycle streets or google.

I think the Bike Hub app actually uses CycleStreets routing: http://www.cyclestreets.net/mobile/

Hi Richard, thanks for your observation. As far as I can see the routes they show are different. For instance the route for my commute Angel to Dartford using the bike hub app uses the Grand Union canal. By contrast the cycle streets map has found me a road route ignoring the canal which is much slower and more dangerous even if I select the "quietest" setting for the route plannning - I only tried it "off canal" once! It is BikeHub's use of the canal and of permitted routes through parks which I prefer.

Also, correct me if I am wrong but the cycle streets app is a route finder which is different. Going somewhere I am unfamiliar with in London during the rush hour I want real-time turn-by-turn navigation and this is the reason I recommended the handlebar mount.

To the OP's original enquiry - a bullet-proof Nav system with good route planning, clear instructions, bug free turn by turn operation and a reasonable battery performance headlined my letter to Santa last Christmas. In central London route selection is key in my opinion and all the advice about reconnaissance is well founded.

I should also say, I have not used a Garmin but observing the experiences of a bunch of users on a cycle ride to Paris was an eye opener. I am not particularly proficient with IT so if anyone has a better solution please suggest it.

[Smiles]

Richard,

I have just checked and realize my mistake on the routing - Bike hub is the same as cycle streets as you say.

It is a shame that cycle streets does not allow turn by turn instructions.

smiles