Cruelty to bikes

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
CliveyT
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Cruelty to bikes

Post by CliveyT »

I have the joy(?) of commuting into Cambridge every day and by and large its good. Infrastructure isn't much better than the rest of the country but there are lots of people cycling. Not cyclists, in the same way I don't describe myself as a pedestrian because I walk to the shops, just people who happen to use a bike.
But there is one problem that is really getting to me-
HAVE THESE PEOPLE NEVER HEARD OF OIL?
Can they not hear their bike screaming at them? The abuse of brake pads is just as bad, I cringe when I hear that grinding of metal on metal when someone tries to stop.
I do get this image of the old peasant farmer and his malnourished and overladen donkey, the one you often see in the Sunday papers asking for help to stop the abuse.

Is there no way we can take their bikes off them, maybe take them to a sanctuary where teams of volunteers will help them to get well again, ban the owners from ever owning a bike again?
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mjr
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Re: Cruelty to bikes

Post by mjr »

Whether the infrastructure is better depends which bit of Cambridge but... at least in Cambridge they don't run on dead flat tyres as often as Norfolk ;-)

Oh and I'm sure someone will be along in a moment to explain you want wax/Teflon/silicone/rocking horse manure not oil :lol:
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
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axel_knutt
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Re: Cruelty to bikes

Post by axel_knutt »

That reminds me of a bloke I was following last month. There was a peculiar twitch from his right leg which made me think he was disabled, but as I got closer I noticed the problem. The right crank was so loose that the periphery of the chainring was slopping from side to side by about half an inch.

My mums partner asked me to mend a puncture once, and that bike was much the same. It had been ridden with a loose cotter pin for so long that the crank would rotate to and fro by about 30 deg. He'd attempted to tighten it, but not until the cotter was already mangled, so the nut was just bottomed against the shoulder on the pin.
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mercalia
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Re: Cruelty to bikes

Post by mercalia »

ah the days of cotter pins and large heavy hammers
Thomas125
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Re: Cruelty to bikes

Post by Thomas125 »

Brings back memories riding my dads bike with cotter pins and down tube shifters as a teenager :mrgreen: He's still got the bike too.
Was 93.4kg now 78.3kg

Next target 74.0kg

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Vorpal
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Re: Cruelty to bikes

Post by Vorpal »

At least they are riding bikes. I'd rather see someone on an abused, clunking and squeaking bike than in a car.

At least if they maintain a bikes badly, they're unlikely to hurt anyone but themselves if the brakes fail!
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LollyKat
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Re: Cruelty to bikes

Post by LollyKat »

Vorpal wrote:... they're unlikely to hurt anyone but themselves if the brakes fail!

...apart from the pedestrian or other cyclist they career into...? :roll:
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Audax67
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Re: Cruelty to bikes

Post by Audax67 »

Wiki: "Cotter pin can also refer to a type of split pin supplied with washers that is used in making teddy bear arm, leg and neck joints."

Well I never.
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Kenn
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Re: Cruelty to bikes

Post by Kenn »

What's wrong with downtube shifters? I use them all the time. They are inexpensive. They never go wrong. They rarely need adjusting. They seem to last for ever. The short cable runs reduce friction. They make stem/handlebar changes and adjustments easier. They need a little practice to make slick changes without looking down, but it's an easily acquired skill.

I believe they initially went out of fashion because racers wanted to change up prior to launching an attack without alerting competitors. Nowadays manufacturers prefer gearing which is complex, expensive, wears out fast and requires every system component to be part of a groupset -all of which maximise profits.
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mjr
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Re: Cruelty to bikes

Post by mjr »

Easily acquired skill? I ended up in a field the first front shift!

I do love friction shifting and recently converted another bike to it, though. First one for 5 years. We'll see if the love lasts.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
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RickH
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Re: Cruelty to bikes

Post by RickH »

Kenn wrote:What's wrong with downtube shifters? They never go wrong....

Except when they do! :D

I can remember at least one occasion when I had the choice of top gear or riding one handed holding the shifter in place (which can be interesting in hilly city traffic - deciding when to let go of the lever to grab the front brake) as it had decided that no matter how much you tightened it it wouldn't stay put.

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Former member of the Cult of the Polystyrene Head Carbuncle.
Kenn
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Re: Cruelty to bikes

Post by Kenn »

You could use one or both toe straps to fix the friction lever to the downtube and/or bottle cage and hold a lower gear. If you have toe straps! Another good reason to avoid these new-fangled clipless pedals.
LollyKat
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Re: Cruelty to bikes

Post by LollyKat »

Or just use the limit stops on the changer - I've had to do this a couple of times when a cable snapped. (I've learnt to check cables regularly and carry spares :wink: )
Vorpal
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Re: Cruelty to bikes

Post by Vorpal »

Kenn wrote:You could use one or both toe straps to fix the friction lever to the downtube and/or bottle cage and hold a lower gear. If you have toe straps! Another good reason to avoid these new-fangled clipless pedals.


Or just carry a spare toe strap? ;)
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Mr. Viking
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Re: Cruelty to bikes

Post by Mr. Viking »

If there were rules about this I would have been banned from cycling many times over :oops:

turns out riding in the sea isn't good for gears.

Or suspension.

Or riding into walls to see how fast the bike stops.

How about cutting a spoke to see what happens.

Or using the maximum chain angle possible because "it sounds like a motorbike"

Or cleaning the oil off the chain with a brunsh because it made my hands dirty when I put it back on (for some reason it fell off quite regularly)

Or forgetting to tighten the rear wheel nuts and being surprised at how fast the bike would slow down when the wheel came off

or chucking the anti turn washers from a hub gear because they looked stupid

My bike was once dropped off the back of a car while heading off for a camping holliday.

I used to try and run in to the back of my brothers bike because it would make him skid

I rounded off just about every fastener using vise grips because I was too lazy to get a screwdriver

I used to turn the bike upside down, spin the wheel up and push polystyrene into the tyre to shred it.

Sometimes it takes a bit of cruelty in order to learn.
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