biketalk101

As a cyclist you are prone to being hit by many vehacles on the road. As a group you are just as easy of a target, if you are riding 2 a stride move to single file if some one comes up behind you and move to the side, it's simple, this is how I ride and show respect to motorists, I also value my life, I ride and I drive I however am not stubborn when it comes to cars coming up behind me, I know I would not win!

Wheels are a big part of any bicycle build, but what do you choose alluminium or carbon? The real question is what do you plan on riding, and where? If you are mostly on track or some were without pot holes then carbon is a definite yes. However most British roads have raised grids potholes and loose stones, these can be a killer to carbon wheels. Alluminium has a tendancy to bends were as carbon shatters. Before buying definitely think of what your application is.

Just a quick post to everyone, the blog will be updated weekly on a Saturday night, this will allow me to bring better content to you guys, so far it’s just been bits of blogs everywhere. Also if you would like to donate to us you can do to [email protected] via PayPal. Images we display will be available for sale if you e-mail us at [email protected] photos are priced at £1 each

Photo 001 £1 see description in blog

All photos are available by sending an e-mail to [email protected] and a payment of £1 via PayPal to [email protected]

All photos are available by sending an e-mail to [email protected] and a payment of £1 via PayPal to [email protected]

Brooks luxurie saddles have been around for a long time now, and wow they looks amazing. If you have never experienced Brooks comfort factor check them out, older saddles are leather. I started with the b5n and it was the best I had ever tried! The cabium is on a new level. From the moment you get on you will fall in love, the vulcanised rubber ensures the seat will last and as it is so strong the versatility is second to none. The only problems I have seen with the cabium seats are that as you use them the lighter ones pick up dirt very easily and they are hard to clean, if you buy one go for the slate or black! Although I font own a cabium I have used them. Go and buy one, I will be doing so! This is not a paid endorsement by Brooks or any other company!

We have all been there, you go to a bike shop with not much experience in buying parts, and they tell you you need things you don't. Recently I visited Evans cycles in Preston, Evans is a big cycle chain store and most staff are very good, however, due to the size the staff get carried away when people want basic parts. A customer was in at the same time as me, a young lad around 18 years old. He wanted some tyres for his bike to get to college on, a cheap set would do, and nothing amazing, just a set of tyres that work, after listening in the shopkeeper was marketing gatorskins to him, I know they are good tyres but that's no excuse,on leaving the shop I advised him to go on eBay were new tyres are cheap and affordable. I just want to remind people that online shopping can help you a lot in the cycling world and keep you from side tracking what you wanted in the first place!

The bad weather finally struck last night, and it was worse than expected, after work I visited an old friend, and after leaving I noticed how cold it was, as I started riding I was amazed at how matted the road looked, then it struck... Ice! It was here, and as I was going past puddles that had frozen, it hit me, this is going to get a lot worse, luckily I had no falls but I did slide a little bit, I kept off riding hard for my own safety. Going to work this morning was cold and even more slippery, surprisingly I made the ride on time, despite not hitting it too fast. If you are going to be riding in the ice, take your time!

Blog 16, Take a different route and make a better story. On my commute home today, I decided I would try a different journey, it took a little longer but I descovered something new, above is a statue I found. I think you should detour from your usual commuting journey and take a different route once a month or so, it can open your eyes to places you didn't know were there!

Thanks for reading guys, keep checking for more awesome content.

Sorry no tips, if your lucky I might put one on tonight though, keep checking!

When choosing bars the decision can get tough, flat, drop, bull or track. Flat bars. Flat bars are for turning,plain and simple, the length of them give a good turning circle and so help you turn faster and sharper. If you ride fixies you will already know this, flat bars also give you the option of barspins etc. I like flat bars to ride with now and again but as I don't do much sharp turning they are not essential. They rate about 10/10 for turning and 5/10 for straights Drop bars. Drop bars are more commonly seen on road bikes, they are more for the fast paced people who want to go quick. The bars go down to lower the body and make less drag, although they are good for speed they only rate about 6/10 for turning and about 8/10 for straights. Track bars. Track bars are great for speed, lowering the body height reduces drag and also having the arms to the front also creates a good slipstream, this means you can get the most speed out of your ride, turning is a challenge though, on my old track bars I found myself constantly going back to the drop bars to turn as it was so bad. I'd give track bars 10/10 for streights and only about 3/10 for turning. For the most part in England you would only want to choose between flat bars and drop bars, I personally ride drop bars and have found them to work perfect for me, you can use the top of the drop bars for turning as I frequently do in traffic and it does help, the other downside to drops in my opinion is the braking, unless you get dedicated drop bar levers you have to make do with the lever on the top of the bars, so if like me you ride one brake (front). You NEED to consider this in your choice. I hope this helped you guys and feel free to tweet us on Twitter to let us know what you ride @biketalk.101

Blog 12. Anatomy of a bicycle. With more and more people converting to commuting on bike, I felt it right to share this photo, many people come into the scene and have no idea were parts on a bike are, or even what they are called. I have been in bike shops before and over heard customers describing a bob as the, 'bit where the pedals stick out,' this makes it very hard for bike shops to know about the problem and often causes parts not to fit etc... Also I must point out that a general rule for bike type is wheel size, if your bike runs 20" wheels it's usually a bmx or shopper bike, if you have 24" wheels it's usually a mountain bike, as is 26". 27" are usually touring bikes, and finally 700c are racers or fixed gear bikes. When going to a shop you should state your wheel size if you are after replacement parts, this is so the shop can give you the best possible replacement. Here is a brake down of terminology also... Bb- bottom bracket Hs - headset Pa- pedal arms (165, 170, 175) Dt- down tube St- usually seat tube but can get mixed with steerer tube. Srt or ht- steerer tube or head tube D/o - drop outs C-st- chain stay C/a -crank arms (also pa) H/b - handle bars. W/s- wheel size. Different shops and websites use different terminology but this is what I use.

When it comes to choosing a bike, most people will look at paintwork as the main selling point, but it's more than just that! A bright yellow fixie might look good, but does it have the specs? As fixies have grown within culture so has the cheap mass produced frames, some with thin and not so strong tubing (cost cutting). And some that are brilliant but don't look $1000! When shopping for a bike always look at a broad range of cycles and research into the build of them, many companies that are worth looking at will happily tell you if the frame you want is brazed or welded, how strong the steel is tested to and much much more. In the past I have bought cheap frames that lasted little longer than a day, the steel will make a huge difference to the stiffness of your bike, and if you pedal hard a cheap steel can easily bend on the seat tube, twisting a bb. And that's not good. Also if you take a crash you want to know your bike will stand up to it!