The Velotard Thread.

[machin05]

Oh, and you get to see so much more of London's character and diversity when your knocking around on a bike vs being sardined in the tube for 45 minutes.

I actually really enjoyed it!

 

[Tredman]

Saw quite a few of these knocking around. Zoomos, I think they were called. London is so flat though, that unless you were doing 20+ miles a day I would have thought an ebike might be overkill. A nice lightweight hybrid commuter would be the way to go, imo.

Yeah true, they are quite cool though

 

[EpsomWolf]

Any thoughts on bike washing and maintenance?

Really enjoying being back out and about but the 10 year old inside of me can’t resist getting stuck right in to the narrow trails and all of the mud. Would be quickest and easiest to give the bike a quick jet wash after each ride but nervous that it might be damaging long-term. Wouldn’t want to be blasting oil/grease out and water in.

Also, although I’m pretty confident with bikes mechanically, I curious about the maintenance of the hydraulic brakes. They’ve not been touched since new and whilst still working effectively must require some sort of service soon. Looks like sealed unit so not sure whether to leave it as long as it’s working properly/have it serviced in store/have a go myself.

I think Keef is the resident mechanic but any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[Mel Evo]

Use the jet wash fine but not on the bearings, headsets, suspensions seals… or do so on low pressure. Always check the drivetrain is lubed after a clean, and no harm in the old school keeping your chain on smallest cog and sprocket to avoid chain stretch.

 

[PuntsWolf]

They’ve got others on that page that may be better. But tends to be my go to on bike related stuff.

 

[machin05]

If your hydraulic brakes are working happily then they don't really need any maintenance. The pads will wear down, but replacing them is easy enough when the time comes.

Jet wash is fine, even on bearings tbh as they should be well sealed enough to survive the odd blash of water. GCN tested bearings against a pressure washer and they were fine.

I use car shampoo to clean the frame after blasting the worst of the muck off. I'll then degrease the chain using a chain cleaner tool and some Screwfix No Nonsense degreaser (the stuff is amazing) then clean the cassette with it too. Rinse everything off and relube.

 

[Johnny75]

The muck off stuff is brilliant. Buy a complete set including the degreaser and then relive as Machin says.

I've ridden through storms and torrential rain and it seemed worse than any jet wash!

 

[lemonjelly]

Another vote for muc-off here too.
I have used a pressure washer on the bike. I only commute 4 miles each way though, so the boke doesn't get too bad. Tend to wash the frame in summer with washing up liquid tbh.

 

[jlo]

I'm really tempted to cycle to work once I move down to London later this year as we have really good facilities in our office building for parking/storage as well as dedicated showers and changing etc.

The only thing that does put me off is the traffic and riding on the roads around London - maybe I'll just have to bite the bullet and give it a try.

Also tempted to get a VanMoof S3 which will make the ride much more enjoyable providing I've got good storage at each end

As a regular London commuter...it really depends on your route, but you can create your own routes fairly easily. I don't go the most direct way to most places because I've learnt where the infrastructure is or rivers etc intersect to give me both a car free, and pollution free journey (and tends to have much better scenery to give you a better start to the day too). Before you base yourself in London, you might want to give this a little thought too. I personally like being near Richmond Park too so I can do laps there also.

 

[machin05]

I'd be very tempted by something like this if I were a London commuter

https://www.quellabicycle.com/product-category/bikes/nero/

 

[Keef]

Any thoughts on bike washing and maintenance?

Really enjoying being back out and about but the 10 year old inside of me can’t resist getting stuck right in to the narrow trails and all of the mud. Would be quickest and easiest to give the bike a quick jet wash after each ride but nervous that it might be damaging long-term. Wouldn’t want to be blasting oil/grease out and water in.

Also, although I’m pretty confident with bikes mechanically, I curious about the maintenance of the hydraulic brakes. They’ve not been touched since new and whilst still working effectively must require some sort of service soon. Looks like sealed unit so not sure whether to leave it as long as it’s working properly/have it serviced in store/have a go myself.

I think Keef is the resident mechanic but any thoughts are appreciated.

View attachment 5211

We recommend brakes get bled ( cleaning out old fluid, putting new fluid in) every 12 months.
cleaning, can’t help with that, I last cleaned my bike 3 years ago! In my defence it’s a daily commuter, I’m 54 I’ve better things to do with the rest of my life.

 

[EpsomWolf]

Thanks for the comments, very helpful. Just picked up some Muc-off bits from Halfords and had a chat with the guy about the brake service too. £30 per wheel and recommended annually as per Keef‘s post.

Brakes seem to be working fine so will invest in a brake bleeding kit and have a go in the summer. Still scarred by the nightmare of getting air into the system of my MK3 Cortina decades ago but hey, that’s how you learn. Looks like once you’ve done it the first time it should be relatively straightforward from there. At 60 quid a pop it’s got to be worth a go.

 

[Keef]

Try gravity bleeding them, I find it easier than faffing around with syringes and stuff, there’s a YouTube channel called Sydney fixes bikes, they had a really good video on it.
Epic bleed solutions are good to get your bits from

 

[AndyWolves]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1509472416619245570

Thoughts?

 

[machin05]

Clearly a close pass and looks to be carelessly fast too which is a horrible experience. I think the only reason the cyclist has fallen is because they haven't been able to unclip in time, mind

 

[EpsomWolf]

Have to say as stupid as the driver was I never fail to chuckle at someone toppling over when unable to unclip in time. One of the most embarrassIng things you can do. The fall is always almost balletic in its grace, followed by the desperate humiliation of trying to unclip whilst astride a bicycle horizontally.

Pleased the driver was prosecuted but pleased for her too that we only got to see the fall. 6.0 for artistic merit. Bravo.

 

[lemonjelly]

https://www.expressandstar.com/news...scooters-could-be-legalised-for-use-on-roads/

wonder if e-scooters will be hated by road users more than cyclists, or not?

 

[sycophantia]

https://www.expressandstar.com/news...scooters-could-be-legalised-for-use-on-roads/

wonder if e-scooters will be hated by road users more than cyclists, or not?

Be about the same I would think. Will be interesting to see if training and insurance will be required

 

[lemonjelly]

course they won't - a tory govt ain't going to bring in "red tape"
plus a lot of e-scooters are for hire (here at least), so who'd take an e-scooter proficiency in case they may hire one?
cycling proficiency used to be a thing but disappeared in 2007. who got rid of it?

 

[BillyDee]

Would be nice if the current laws were enforced and they were kept off the paths and pavements.