You Are A Bunch of Frauds

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
puffin
Posts: 559
Joined: 15 Aug 2010, 3:29pm
Location: Bicester / Aylesbury

Re: You Are A Bunch of Frauds

Post by puffin »

Nice try BigFoz... but I'm on to you speed merchants now. :) Its these turbo bikes you ride.

..and the first ride, far from warming me up, it actually knackered me.
reohn2
Posts: 45158
Joined: 26 Jun 2009, 8:21pm

Re: You Are A Bunch of Frauds

Post by reohn2 »

puffin wrote: Sheez the Vanquish is stiff. Its also very short coupled.........

Are you sure that's a bike you've bought :shock:

......I cannot take my hands off to signal yet.

EEK! :shock:

........... Finally, comparing the graphs from the sat nav, it is not as fast going down hill.

I rather think it's all down hill from here :?
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Audax67
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Location: Alsace, France
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Re: You Are A Bunch of Frauds

Post by Audax67 »

Bike Radar says of the Vanquish:

Highs: Very good kit for the price and great to see Mavic rims too
Lows: It’s weighty, the welding is basic and the ride very firm
Buy if: You’re a strong rider who values performance over comfort

FWIW my backup bike is an old MBK 7005 alu bike that I have set up to match the Lapierre Ti-frame bike I use for Audax. I can happily do 1000k on the Lapierre, loaded to about 20 kg, but 50k on the 10 kg MBK and my legs hurt.
Have we got time for another cuppa?
Bicycler
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Joined: 4 Dec 2013, 3:33pm

Re: You Are A Bunch of Frauds

Post by Bicycler »

puffin wrote:First off, I am not a real cyclist so have never changed a tyre. Never had a puncture to be honest. If I buy one of those tyres will I have to learn before long to fix a puncture?

In the long run it's worth learning how to change the tube/tyre anyway rather than having a shop do it. Firstly because it'll save you money, secondly because it's more convenient, thirdly because it's not very difficult. Some jobs on a bike require mechanical aptitude but this isn't one of them. You just need to be shown how to do it. Get a friend to show you or search for Youtube videos.

No tyre is immune to puncturing even if they are marketed as "puncture proof". They are very good at preventing punctures but not perfect. For local errands it's enough to use a "puncture proof" tyre like the Marathon Plus and accept that if it does puncture you will have to walk a couple of miles. When you start doing long rides into the country a puncture could leave you stranded so learning how to fix one becomes much more important. Most of us just carry a spare inner tube to swap for the punctured one rather than attempt to patch a tube at the roadside (inevitably in the rain...).

Besides being heavy the Marathon Plus is also famously difficult to get on and off some rims on the rare occasions when it does puncture. Forum member 531colin made a video to show that even those can be changed without resorting to tyre levers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XUFVrl0UT4

R2 reckons that those Vittorias give an excellent ride and are very good at resisting punctures. I'm currently riding the Schwalbe Marathon Racer tyres which again are a fast touring tyre but a bit heavier with more puncture protection. Either should be much nicer to ride than the M+ and a fair bit easier to fit and remove. The Continental Gatorskin is a popular puncture resistant road slick available in narrower widths.
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661-Pete
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Joined: 22 Nov 2012, 8:45pm
Location: Sussex

Re: You Are A Bunch of Frauds

Post by 661-Pete »

Bicycler wrote:I'm currently riding the Schwalbe Marathon Racer tyres which again are a fast touring tyre but a bit heavier with more puncture protection. Either should be much nicer to ride than the M+ and a fair bit easier to fit and remove.
I've not come across "Marathon Racer" but I have tried Durano+ which is the road-bike counterpart of the M+, comes in 700x23c. I have to say I was a bit disappointed with those, so I went back to my preferred option which is Specialized Armadillo. But, I suppose, each to his own...
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Bicycler
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Joined: 4 Dec 2013, 3:33pm

Re: You Are A Bunch of Frauds

Post by Bicycler »

661-Pete wrote:
Bicycler wrote:I'm currently riding the Schwalbe Marathon Racer tyres which again are a fast touring tyre but a bit heavier with more puncture protection. Either should be much nicer to ride than the M+ and a fair bit easier to fit and remove.
I've not come across "Marathon Racer" but I have tried Durano+ which is the road-bike counterpart of the M+, comes in 700x23c. I have to say I was a bit disappointed with those, so I went back to my preferred option which is Specialized Armadillo. But, I suppose, each to his own...

The "Racer" is very poorly named as it is more of a slick road touring tyre and only available in bigger widths. It's not armour plated like the M+, so is a much more supple ride. It's not a tyre for a full on road bike. I agree with R2 that the combination of stiff Dawes Galaxy frame and 25mm Martahon Pluses (presumably at high pressure stretched over wide touring rims) is probably not a good one. Anyway, now the OP has a lightweight road bike he can afford to have a different setup on his Galaxy.

BTW, I agree that the armadillo is a good road tyre, though I preferred gatorskins back when I used narrow tyres.
nez
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Joined: 19 Jun 2008, 12:11am

Re: You Are A Bunch of Frauds

Post by nez »

Would Marathon Plus make you go 1/25th slower on a Galaxy? I'd have thought so. I have them on Brompton but that's because I don't fancy changing a tube while commuting.
slowpeddler
Posts: 151
Joined: 6 Aug 2010, 5:33pm

Re: You Are A Bunch of Frauds

Post by slowpeddler »

What I cannot understand is why going faster is somehow desirable.

Me, I potter along happy as Larry, speeds and times have no interest. Surely the whole point about cycling is to enjoy
it , and you don't need to spend a lot on a bike to have fun. Ever.

John
OnYourRight
Posts: 283
Joined: 30 Jun 2013, 8:53pm

Re: You Are A Bunch of Frauds

Post by OnYourRight »

There are many ways to have fun messing around with bikes, but one way is certainly to go fast. The glee of moving faster than you can on your own two feet is a big part of the appeal of cycling to young children – or was to me, at any rate.

Many people use bikes as practical transport, for which the benefit of speed is obvious.

Some people traverse the country by bike, and high efficiency is needed just to cover the vast distances in the available daylight/holiday time/allocated timespan.

A few even race and claim to enjoy it!

No harm in any of this, just as there’s no harm in enjoying a leisurely ride at a civilised pace.
Postboxer
Posts: 1929
Joined: 24 Jul 2013, 5:19pm

Re: You Are A Bunch of Frauds

Post by Postboxer »

A faster/lighter bike, with better tyres, will require less energy to travel the same distance at the same speed. I don't know what the difference in efficiency is between a BSO supermarket special mountain bike and a cheap, good value and quality hybrid or roadbike but it could be enough to put people off or encourage people to cycle more. There is a problem that people perceive cycling to be hard work, which isn't helped by people trying cycling on cheap mountain bikes, that aren't best suited to riding around on the road. The faster you can go, the further the journey you can make before thinking that a car is the only option.
reohn2
Posts: 45158
Joined: 26 Jun 2009, 8:21pm

Re: You Are A Bunch of Frauds

Post by reohn2 »

OnYourRight wrote:There are many ways to have fun messing around with bikes, but one way is certainly to go fast. The glee of moving faster than you can on your own two feet is a big part of the appeal of cycling to young children – or was to me, at any rate.

Many people use bikes as practical transport, for which the benefit of speed is obvious.

Some people traverse the country by bike, and high efficiency is needed just to cover the vast distances in the available daylight/holiday time/allocated timespan.

A few even race and claim to enjoy it!

No harm in any of this, just as there’s no harm in enjoying a leisurely ride at a civilised pace.


Agreed :)
I've never been what I'd call a fast rider,moderate yes and when I was younger perhaps quick would be nearer the mark,but distance I can cover in a day is and always has been a source of constant joy and amazement :D
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"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
NigelCliffe
Posts: 13
Joined: 13 Jun 2014, 10:24pm

Re: You Are A Bunch of Frauds

Post by NigelCliffe »

Bicycler wrote:
661-Pete wrote:
Bicycler wrote:I'm currently riding the Schwalbe Marathon Racer tyres which again are a fast touring tyre but a bit heavier with more puncture protection. Either should be much nicer to ride than the M+ and a fair bit easier to fit and remove.
I've not come across "Marathon Racer" but I have tried Durano+ which is the road-bike counterpart of the M+, comes in 700x23c. I have to say I was a bit disappointed with those, so I went back to my preferred option which is Specialized Armadillo. But, I suppose, each to his own...

The "Racer" is very poorly named as it is more of a slick road touring tyre and only available in bigger widths. It's not armour plated like the M+, so is a much more supple ride. It's not a tyre for a full on road bike.....


I'd agree with the above. I've been running Marathon Racer's in 700x30mm on my old Nigel Dean World Tour for a year or so, much nicer ride than the 28mm tyres I used to use. Seem to run very well, comfortable and quick. I seem to remember that they came from one of the German online retailers, and they didn't seem to be common in UK shops. I'll be buying again when I need some new tyres.

I have another quicker/lighter bike which uses thinner tyres.

- Nigel
BV1961
Posts: 38
Joined: 1 Nov 2013, 9:38pm

Re: You Are A Bunch of Frauds

Post by BV1961 »

I've not ridden my Pinarello aluminium monviso bike hardly at all since I bought a Thorn Sherpa.....which is just so comfortable.
But this week I've taken them both out -enjoyed both but the Sherpa more.
As for speed the Pinarello gives me an average speed normally around 16-17mph and the Sherpa 12-14mph......I 'went for it' down a local hill on separate occasions this week - pedalled like a mad man to see how fast I could go - Pinarello 38mph / Sherpa 41mph (the sherpa was also a lot less frightening).
nez
Posts: 2080
Joined: 19 Jun 2008, 12:11am

Re: You Are A Bunch of Frauds

Post by nez »

I can only manage one at a time. ;)
DaveGos
Posts: 275
Joined: 13 Nov 2009, 12:40pm

Re: You Are A Bunch of Frauds

Post by DaveGos »

I started riding Touring bikes for years and have moved into the road racing and TT world. Now outside racing I mainly do day rides on my racing bike a Giant TCR. When I first rode it I found it very strange , but now find it quite comfortable and am happy to do a 200 k Audax on it . I find it strange getting back on my Audax and touring bikes with the very upright position. I think most of the speed difference is tyres , a little is extra drag due to the upright position and some speed is lost with less stiff setup , Weight is probably not a major factor unless doing lots of hills and starting and stopping
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